Time offers a surprising response to outcry against its misleading anti-Trump cover

Time magazine responded with a surprising statement for what many say is a misleading cover attempting to hit President Donald Trump for family separation at the border.

Here's what happened

Time revealed their cover to much fanfare among Trump critics for what appeared to be a devastating commentary on the controversial policy of family separation at the border.

The cover included an iconic image of a 2-year-old Honduran girl who was photographed crying as her mother was being searched by a immigration enforcement official at the border.

Next to that stark image was juxtaposed an image of Trump looking down at the child, with the text, "welcome to America."

Not really accurate

But it was revealed later that the scathing commentary was undermined by the reality of what happened to the Honduran girl - she was separated from her mother by all of ten seconds, according to the photographer.

An interview with the father of the girl revealed that she had not been separated from her mother at all, and that they were both in detention together, apparently pending their application for asylum.

"Capture the stakes of this moment"

Rather than admit that the image was misleading as a criticism of a policy that did not apply to the girl, Time magazine defended their decision in a statement Friday.

“The June 12 photograph of the 2-year-old Honduran girl became the most visible symbol of the ongoing immigration debate in America for a reason,” said a Time spokesman to CNN.

“Under the policy enforced by the administration, prior to its reversal this week, those who crossed the border illegally were criminally prosecuted, which in turn resulted in the separation of children and parents," the spokesman continued. "Our cover and our reporting capture the stakes of this moment."

Here's a Fox News video about the image:

Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to end family separations at the border, but Democrats and others have criticized the order for simply keeping families together in detention.