Wednesday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) dismissed President Donald Trump’s remarks stating that he wanted more legal immigration to the United States.

The Oregon Democrat said he didn’t believe Trump was sincere and added that the president had criminalized asylum, which in turn has created a humanitarian crisis.

“No, I don’t believe it — unless he had some thing in his head that he was talking about tourism or something of that nature, business partnerships. But I think he was trying to take a little bit of a step away from the fact that he’s presented himself as really being against immigrants coming to the United States. Now, realize when people flee persecution, and the vast bulk of people come to the southern border, they’re fleeing persecution in Central America, they’re presenting themselves for asylum. They are taking a legal act under our law and international. It was a criminalization of this, which is incorrect and wrong by the president in all kind of ways, followed by child separation, abuse of children, child prisons, family internment camps. He’s created that humanitarian crisis.”

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