(CNN) President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the separation of families at the US border Friday, a response he's repeatedly made to criticism his administration has faced since it adopted a policy that results in far more children being separated from their parents.

"The Democrats forced that law upon our nation," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I hate it. I hate to see separation of parents and children. The Democrats can come to us as they actually are in all fairness, we are talking to them, and they can change the whole border security. We need a wall. We need border security. We've got to get rid of catch and release."

The President's comments are significant given how his administration is operating and what Congress is trying to do to address a variety of immigration and border security issues. Just 24 hours ago, House Republicans unveiled legislation aimed at both addressing Trump's priorities on immigration as well as possibly make changes to protocol to address family separation (more on that below).

To add some clarity here given this morning's (and the last few weeks) comments, here's where things stand:

On the 'compromise' GOP legislation, and the 'fix' on separation

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