Senate Republicans did not want another immigration fight. Now they might not have a choice.

"The administration's decision to separate families is a new, discretionary choice," said Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, one of several high-profile Republicans to speak out in recent days. "Anyone saying that their hands are tied or that the only conceivable way to fix the problem of catch-and-release is to rip families apart is flat wrong. There are other options available to them."

Whether the blistering statements will manifest themselves into legislation remains to be seen. Such action would require GOP members to directly defy Trump, something the party has been hesitant to pursue in an election year. And the Senate has already had a bruising fight over immigration earlier this year that resulted in no legislation advancing, making a possible return to debating the subject all the more significant.

But saying nothing no longer seems like an option. After a weekend of lawmaker visits to detention centers, images of children behind metal fencing and a growing awareness of what President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy actually means along the border, a small number of Republican senators are calling for changes.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah and the longest serving GOP senator in history, called the practice of separating families at the border "wrong."

"While I recognize the difficulty the last two administrations have faced with regard to families illegally crossing the border, I wholeheartedly agree with the President's comments that a policy that leads to separating children from their families is wrong," Hatch said. "I am working with colleagues in both houses on a path forward that recognizes the need for compassion for children and families without incentivizing illegal border crossings. That solution can and should be bipartisan."

While Trump has blamed family separations on Democrats, the reality is it is a direct effect of the Trump administration's decision to criminally prosecute immigrants coming across the border even if they are traveling with children.

Republican lawmaker reaction to family separations grew more intense over the weekend. Republican Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services demanding answers about the practice.

"The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility, it won't be," Trump said Monday. "You look at what's happening in Europe, you look at what's happening in other places, we can't allow that to happen to the United States, not on my watch."

Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy described the situation this way: "I think the whole thing is a hot mess."

"I support the practice of arresting people who break the law," he said, but he added that he would like children to stay with their parents. "That would be my strong preference."

In the House, Republican lawmakers could vote on legislation as soon as this week that would address a host of immigration issues. A compromise piece of legislation would provide Trump with his border wall and give recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a legal status that would allow them -- if they meet certain criteria --to someday apply for citizenship.

The House bill would also overturn a court settlement and allow children to remain in DHS custody indefinitely. The change would allow families to stay together, but only while in DHS custody. If the parents are criminally prosecuted -- as is the practice with zero tolerance-- parents and children would still be separated.

House moderates have sought ways to further bolster protections to ensure that families can stay together.

"That's an issue of great concern to me. And we're still looking for ways to do more to keep families together in this legislation," Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo told reporters last week.