“Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and top Justice Department officials moved forward with a “zero tolerance” immigration policy in 2018 aware that it would forcibly split up families and were unprepared for the impact, according to anew report by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General.
Sessions’ office was a ‘driving force’ in pushing for the Department of Homeland Security to begin referring adults who entered the U.S. illegally with children to be prosecuted by the Justice Department, according to the report. The Trump administration policy, which lasted from April to June 2018, resulted in the separation of more than 5,000 families — with hundreds that still have not been reunited.”
— “Jeff Sessions’ DOJ was ‘driving force’ behind family separation policy, IG report finds,” Sabrina Rodríguez, Politico
More:
“Justice Department Knew 2018 Border Policy Would Separate Children From Families,” Dustin Jones, NPR News
“Senior U.S. Justice officials pushed family separations, watchdog finds,” Mimi Dwyer, Reuters
“Justice officials respond to report on family separation by blaming Trump, expressing regret,” Julia Ainsley and Jacob Soboroff, NBC News
“When U.S. Customs and Border Protection holds migrant children in custody, the child’s detention is supposed to be safe and short. That’s true whether the child is with a parent or without one.
But new data shows that over the last four years, detention times lengthened as the number of children held at the border soared to almost half a million. The detentions, which include both unaccompanied children and children with their families, peaked last year at over 300,000, with 40 percent held longer than the 72-hour limit set by a patchwork of legislation and a court settlement.”
— “500,000 Kids, 30 Million Hours: Trump’s Vast Expansion of Child Detention,” Anna Flagg and Andrew R. Calderón, The Marshall Project
Related:
“Judge blocks border officials from expelling unaccompanied migrant children,” Stef W. Kight, Axios
“White House killed deal to pay for mental health care for migrant families separated at border,” Jacob Soboroff, Julia Ainsley and Geoff Bennett, NBC News
“The trauma Donald Trump’s administration caused to young children and parents separated at the US-Mexico border constitutes torture, according to evaluations of 26 children and adults by the group Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
The not-for-profit group’s report provides the first in-depth look at the psychological impact of family separation, which the US government continued despite warnings from the nation’s top medical bodies.”
‘Legal experts have argued family separation constituted torture, but this is the first time a medical group has reached the determination.”
— “Trump’s separation of families constitutes torture, doctors find,” Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian
Caliburn International, a federal contractor making billions from imprisoning immigrant children, has canceled its planned holiday party at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia after the event became public knowlege and conflict-of-interest questions were raised. It wasn’t a party for the migrant kids, mind you, just their taxpayer-funded jailers.
Happy holidays.
More:
“Contractor that holds migrant children scraps plans for holiday party at Trump golf club,” Graham Kates, CBS News
“The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that the Trump administration separated 1,556 more immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border than has previously been disclosed to the public.
The majority of the children are ages 12 and under, including more than 200 considered “tender age” because they are under 5 years old.
The ACLU said the Justice Department disclosed the final tally — which is in addition to the more than 2,700 children known to have been separated last year — hours before a federal court deadline to identify all children separated since mid-2017, the year President Trump took office.”
— “ACLU says 1,500 more migrant children were taken from parents by the Trump administration,” Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post
Many migrant children separated from their parents by the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy experienced severe mental trauma, according to a new report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General. Separated children “exhibited more fear, feelings of abandonment, and post-traumatic stress” than children who were not separated.
The Trump Administration continues to separate migrant children from their families at the southern border, claims the ACLU, despite a year-old court order forbidding the practice. There is an exception when parents pose a risk to their children, and Customs and Border Protection has abused that carve-out, separating nearly 1000 children from families over petty offenses or subjective and contrived reasons, says the ACLU in court filings. After CBP separates families, the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement becomes responsible for child welfare, hence the IG report.
More:
“‘Can’t feel my heart:’ IG says separated kids traumatized,” Colleen Long, Martha Mendoza, and Garance Burke, Associated Press
“Government watchdog details severe trauma suffered by separated children,” Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill
The Trump Administration continues to separate migrant children from their families at the southern border, claims the ACLU, despite a year-old court order forbidding the practice. There is an exception when parents with criminal histories or communicable diseases pose a risk to their children, and Customs and Border Protection has abused that carve-out, separating nearly 1000 children from families over petty offenses or subjective and contrived reasons, says the ACLU in court filings.
More:
“ACLU: U.S. has taken nearly 1,000 child migrants from their parents since judge ordered stop to border separations,”Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has given the Trump administration six months, until October 25th, to identify the thousands of children it has separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border:
“It is important for all government actors to have a timeframe, a deadline,” he said. “You tend to stand on it.”
— “Judge gives US 6 months to identify children split at border,” Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
More:
“Judge gives U.S. six months to identify separated migrant children,” Tom Hals, Reuters
Update:
“Leaked Emails Show Trump Admin Couldn’t Reunite Separated Migrant Kids With Parents,” Daily Beast
Related:
“New Poll: Despite Partisan Divides on Immigration, Americans Oppose Family Separation,” Shibley Telhami and Stella M. Rouse, Lawfare
“Trump says ending family separation practice was a ‘disaster’ that led to surge in border crossings,” Kimberly Kindy, Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post
“Homeland Security Used a Private Intelligence Firm to Monitor Family Separation Protests,” Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
The Justice Department has told a judge it will take at least two years to find out how many of the 47,000 children DHS locked up at the Mexican border were separated from their families by the government. The kids were jailed between July 1, 2017 and June 25, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the Trump Administration to stop the “Zero Tolerance” practice of baby snatching and reunite the families.
The plaintiff in the case, the ACLU, is understandably upset with the timeline, as are psychologists who treat separated children. Or anyone, really, except Stephen Miller.
More:
“U.S. Says It Could Take 2 Years to Identify Up to Thousands of Separated Immigrant Families,” Victor J. Blue, New York Times
“It may take 2 years to identify thousands of separated families, government says,” Catherine E. Shoichet and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
“The Long-Term Damage of Trump’s War on Immigrants,” Chas Danner, New York Magazine
Updates:
“Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen leaving Trump administration amid surge of migrants,” Nick Miroff, Josh Dawsey, Seung Min Kim, and Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post
“Kirstjen Nielsen Was Heartless, but Not Heartless Enough for Trump,” Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast
“Stephen Miller pressuring Trump officials amid immigration shakeups,” Anita Kumar, Gabby Orr, and Daniel Lippman, Politico
“Inside Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s grand plan to ‘clean house’ at the DHS,” Brendan Morrow, The Week
Related:
“Trump’s possibly illegal designation of a new acting homeland security secretary, explained,” Matthew Yglesias, Vox
A report from the DHS Office of the Inspector General finds that an unknown number of children, possibly thousands, were separated from parents at the US-Mexico border before the May 2018 “Zero Tolerance” family separation policy was announced, but weren’t been included in official government tallies of separated families. The kids in the OIG report were placed in foster care but haven’t been reunited with their parents because the Trump Administration lost them. A court ordered migrant family reunification in June 2018.
NBC found a draft of a December 2017 memo indicating that DHS and DOJ were planning the family separations well before Sessions’ “Zero Tolerance” announcement. That’s troubling for DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen who told the House Judiciary Committee, in sworn testimony on December 2018, “We’ve never had a policy for family separation.” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has called on the FBI to open a perjury investigation of Secretary Neilsen.
More:
“Thousands more migrant children separated under Trump than previously known,” Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian
Related:
“Trump’s health secretary refuses Democrats’ request to testify on separated kids,” Dan Diamond, Politico
Updates:
“Mexico won’t accept minors awaiting US asylum claims,” Associated Press
“No one at this child separation hearing knows how many children are still separated,” Kathryn Krawczyk, The Week
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