US immigration crisis: Melania Trump makes surprise visit to border to see ground reality

US First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday, June 21, visited McAllen in Texas in an unannounced trip to get a first-hand knowledge of the crisis and chaos unfolding at the country's border with Mexico affecting several immigrant families.

Melania met doctors and social workers and other experts during her visit and thanked them for their "hard work, compassion and kindness". The first lady recently expressed her disappointment over the separation of small children from their parents who were put on trial for illegally crossing the border saying she hated to see kids getting alienated from their parents.

The Donald Trump administration has come under severe criticism both at home and abroad over the draconian law that separates the children from their parents. It was because of the backlash that Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, June 20, reversing the decision after trying to put the blame on the Democrats first. He also insisted that the Congress needed to act to stop the practice but eventually acted himself. But the reversing was not doing much to ease the crisis, analysts said.

Melania, through her visit, became the first member of the first family to pay a personal visit to see the ground conditions images of which have sent shockwaves across the globe. Videos of wailing children and those kept behind what seemed as cages rocked the conscience of the world as well as people in the US. There were even calls to scrap Trump's visit to the UK next month.

Melania's spokesperson Stephanie Grisham told CNN in a brief press conference while heading to Texas that the former wanted to have a first-hand knowledge of the reality.

The first stop of Melania's visit in Texas was the Upbring New Hope Children's Center, part of Lutheran Social Services of the South - a non-profit organisation.

Melania is expected to brief her husband on what she saw on the ground.