All About the U.S. Separating Families at Its Border
Since April 6 the Trump administration’s policy has been to pursue criminal charges against all individuals who attempt to cross the U.S. border illegally.
A Honduran mother holds her two-year-old as U.S. Border Patrol agents review their papers near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, in McAllen, Texas.
Photographer: John Moore/Getty ImagesSince April, the Trump administration’s policy has been to pursue criminal charges against all individuals who attempt to cross the U.S. border illegally. That has led to a dramatic rise in the number of parents being separated from their children and reports of families being split up even if they are seeking asylum. The administration says the policy is necessary to deter illegal immigration, while critics on both sides of the aisle say the policy is cruel and violates American values.
On April 6, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration was adopting a "zero tolerance" policy toward people caught attempting to cross illegally into the U.S. at the southern border. Under the policy, adults caught at the border are referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. Any children accompanying those adults are being treated as unaccompanied minors and temporarily placed in detention centers run by the Department of Homeland Security. The Trump administration says the policy is aimed at deterring people attempting to cross into the U.S.