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Ryan said Thursday that the policy was the result of a court ruling – a reference to the Flores settlement – rather than a change in administration policy under President Trump.

But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pushed back on that assessment, and said Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department could quickly reverse the \"barbaric\" policy.

\"It can be changed just like that,\" she said, snapping her fingers.

The family separation is a result of the “zero tolerance” policy enacted by the Justice Department to deter illegal border crossings, by prosecuting more immigrants for illegal entry.

\"PHOTO:
Alex Wong/Getty Images
PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Judy Chu march to the headquarters of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during a protest, June 13, 2018, in Washington, DC.
>

\"If you don't want your child separated,\" Sessions said last month, \"then don't bring them across the border illegally. It's not our fault someone does that.\"

Last week a federal judge in California ruled that a lawsuit challenging the administration's practice brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) could proceed.

The lawsuit alleges that the administration is forcibly separating asylum-seekers from their children upon arrival.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement argued in court filings that separating migrant parents and children in immigration detention \"serve the legitimate purpose of allowing the government to carry out its immigration and criminal enforcement role\" and that \"plaintiffs have not provided any basis to conclude that there is a due process right to family unity that prohibited the separation.\"

Despite the change in administration policy, the White House blamed Democrats for the uptick in family separation, with Sanders on Thursday pointing to “legal loopholes that Democrats refuse to close.”

ABC's Lauren Pearle contributed to this report.

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