Trump Administration Considers Separating Families to Combat Illegal Immigration

The following article by Caitlin Dickerson and Ron Nixon was posted on the New York Times website December 21, 2017:

José Fuentes fled El Salvador with his 1-year-old son Mateo. After they were detained at the border, Mr. Fuentes was transferred to a facility in San Diego while Mateo has been held in Texas. Credit Olivia Acevedo

The Trump administration is considering a plan to separate parents from their children when families are caught entering the country illegally, according to officials who have been briefed on the plans. The forceful move is meant to discourage border crossings, but immigrant groups have denounced it as draconian and inhumane.

Under current policy, families are kept intact while awaiting a decision on whether they will be deported; they are either held in special family detention centers or released with a court date. The policy under discussion would send parents to adult detention facilities, while their children would be placed in shelters designed for juveniles or with a “sponsor,” who could be a relative in the United States, though the administration may also tighten rules on sponsors. Continue reading “Trump Administration Considers Separating Families to Combat Illegal Immigration”