The father of the little girl on the US-Mexico border, whose distraught face came to symbolise the plight of families separated by the Trump administration, has said that his daughter and wife are together, and doing well.

Denis Javier Varela Hernandez, 32, said that his two-year-old daughter Yanela was with his wife Sandra in a shelter.

Mr Varela Hernandez, a ship’s captain from Puerto Cortes, Honduras, said he had not spoken to his them, but was informed on Wednesday that they were in custody in Texas.

“My heart broke because it's my little girl,” he told Spanish language network Univision.

“The first time I said that's my little girl when I saw the report.

“Of course I cried, it's really hard. I can imagine that my wife was very fearful crossing the border because she took the decision.”

Mr Varela Hernandez said he had urged his 32-year-old wife not to make the journey.

On the journey to the US, the girl was photographed crying while her mother was searched, and she has been featured on the cover of this week's Time magazine.