This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/17/us-immigration-family-separations-beto-orourke-texas

The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Prominent Democrat makes urgent plea to end family separations: 'It's on us all' 'It's on us all': Democrats press on border separations as White House digs in
(about 3 hours later)
Responsibility for the separation of children from parents at the US border is “on all” Americans, a prominent Texas Democrat said on Sunday, Father’s Day, and “not just the Trump administration” which has implemented the controversial policy. Responsibility for the separation of children from parents at the US border is “on all” Americans, a rising-star Texas Democrat said on Sunday, Father’s Day, and “not just the Trump administration” which has implemented the controversial policy.
“I’d like to say it’s un-American but it’s happening right now in America,” said Beto O’Rourke, a US representative, who in November will challenge Ted Cruz for his Senate seat. Speaking to CNN’s State of the Union, he added: “It is on all of us – not just the Trump administration. This is on all of us.” “I’d like to say it’s un-American but it’s happening right now in America,” said Beto O’Rourke, a US representative who in November will challenge Ted Cruz for his Senate seat. Speaking to CNN’s State of the Union, he added: “It is on all of us, not just the Trump administration. This is on all of us.”
According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) figures obtained by media on Friday, almost 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the southern border in six weeks. Amidst outcry, Donald Trump has stuck to the untrue claim that Democrats are to blame. The senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, however, said the onus was on Democrats to end the policy by negotiating with the president on immigration reform and border security.
Despite an unnamed Trump official having said this week that the brutal separation policy was meant “to force people to the table”, Conway denied that the administration was using children separated from their parents as “leverage”.
In April 2018, the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, announced a “zero tolerance” policy under which anyone who crossed the border without legal status would be prosecuted by the justice department. This includes some, but not all, asylum seekers. Because children can’t be held in adult detention facilities, they are being separated from their parents.In April 2018, the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, announced a “zero tolerance” policy under which anyone who crossed the border without legal status would be prosecuted by the justice department. This includes some, but not all, asylum seekers. Because children can’t be held in adult detention facilities, they are being separated from their parents.
Immigrant advocacy groups, however, say hundreds of families have been separated since at least July 2017. Immigrant advocacy groups, however, say hundreds of families have been separated since at least July 2017. 
More than 200 child welfare groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United Nations, said they opposed the practice. More than 200 child welfare groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United Nations, said they opposed the practice. 
They are supposed to enter the system for processing “unaccompanied alien children”, which exists primarily to serve children who voluntarily arrive at the border on their own. Unaccompanied alien children are placed in health department custody within 72 hours of being apprehended by border agents. They then wait in shelters for weeks or months at a time as the government searches for parents, relatives or family friends to place them with in the US.They are supposed to enter the system for processing “unaccompanied alien children”, which exists primarily to serve children who voluntarily arrive at the border on their own. Unaccompanied alien children are placed in health department custody within 72 hours of being apprehended by border agents. They then wait in shelters for weeks or months at a time as the government searches for parents, relatives or family friends to place them with in the US.
This already overstretched system has been thrown into chaos by the new influx of children.  This already overstretched system has been thrown into chaos by the new influx of children.  
Immigration advocacy groups and attorneys have warned that there is not a clear system in place to reunite families. In one case, attorneys in Texas said they had been given a phone number to help parents locate their children, but it ended up being the number for an immigration enforcement tip line.Immigration advocacy groups and attorneys have warned that there is not a clear system in place to reunite families. In one case, attorneys in Texas said they had been given a phone number to help parents locate their children, but it ended up being the number for an immigration enforcement tip line.
On the other side, advocates for children have said they do not know how to find parents, who are more likely to have important information about why the family is fleeing its home country. And if, for instance, a parent is deported, there is no clear way for them to ensure their child is deported with them.On the other side, advocates for children have said they do not know how to find parents, who are more likely to have important information about why the family is fleeing its home country. And if, for instance, a parent is deported, there is no clear way for them to ensure their child is deported with them.
When an influx of families and unaccompanied children fleeing Central America arrived at the border in 2014, Barack Obama’s administration detained families.When an influx of families and unaccompanied children fleeing Central America arrived at the border in 2014, Barack Obama’s administration detained families.
This was harshly criticized and a federal court in 2015 stopped the government from holding families for months without explanation. Instead, they were released while they waited for their immigration cases to be heard in court. Not everyone shows up for those court dates, leading the Trump administration to condemn what it calls a “catch and release” program.This was harshly criticized and a federal court in 2015 stopped the government from holding families for months without explanation. Instead, they were released while they waited for their immigration cases to be heard in court. Not everyone shows up for those court dates, leading the Trump administration to condemn what it calls a “catch and release” program.
On Saturday, the president tweeted: “Democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the Border by working with Republicans on new legislation, for a change! This is why we need more Republicans elected in November ... ” According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) figures, almost 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the border in six weeks.
There is no law mandating the separation of families at the border. But Trump administration policy is to maximize criminal prosecutions of people caught trying to enter the US illegally. That means more adults are jailed, pending trial, so their children are removed from them. Amidst outcry, Donald Trump has stuck to the untrue claim that Democrats are to blame. On Saturday, the president tweeted: “Democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the Border by working with Republicans on new legislation, for a change! This is why we need more Republicans elected in November ... ”
Before the policy, many accused of illegal entry and without a criminal record were referred for civil deportation proceedings, which generally did not break up families. There is no law mandating separation of families. But White House policy is to maximize criminal prosecutions of people caught trying to enter the US illegally. That means more adults are jailed, pending trial, so children are removed from them. Before the Trump policy, many without a criminal record were referred for civil deportation, which generally did not break up families.
The Trump policy was announced on 6 April and went into effect in May. From 19 April to 31 May, 1,995 children were separated from 1,940 adults, according to DHS figures for people who tried to enter the US between official border crossings. The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics warned this week that forcibly separating children from their parents is a traumatic experience that will cause “irreparable harm”.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Trump adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner who wrote the original travel ban on a list of Muslim-majority countries, was the chief driver of the zero-tolerance border policy. On Sunday, Conway told NBC’s Meet the Press: “As a mother, as a Catholic, as somebody who has a conscience ... I will tell you that nobody likes this policy.”
Trump’s repeated references to a Democratic law appear to involve one enacted in 2008 that passed unanimously in Congress and was signed by a Republican president, George W Bush. It was focused on freeing and helping children who come to the border without a parent or guardian and did not call for family separation. But she also echoed Trump in saying Democrats must negotiate. To the NBC host Chuck Todd’s suggestion that it “sounds like you’re holding the kids hostage to get the Democrats to the table to pass some law”, Conway said she “very forcefully” objected and added: “I certainly don’t want anybody to use these kids as leverage.”
O’Rourke organized a Father’s Day march to Tornillo, Texas, to what has been described as a “tent structure” for 16- and 17-year-olds detained at at the border. Some there had crossed the border on their own, O’Rourke told CNN. Others had made the journey with their parents and then been forcibly taken from them. Earlier this week, an unnamed White House official told the Washington Post: “The president has told folks that in lieu of the laws being fixed, he wants to use the enforcement mechanisms that we have. The thinking in the building is to force people to the table.”
Those minors were now in Tornillo, he said, “with no idea no idea when or if they will see their mothers or their fathers, on this Father’s Day, again”. A second official said: “If they aren’t going to cooperate, we are going to look to utilize the laws as hard as we can.”
“This is inhumane,” O’Rourke said, adding: “We will we be judged for what we do or what we fail to do now.” Trump’s repeated references to a Democratic law appear to involve one enacted in 2008 that was signed by a Republican president, George W Bush. It was focused on freeing and helping children who come to the border without a parent or guardian and did not call for family separation.
Earlier this week O’Rourke’s November opponent, Cruz, defended the Trump policy, saying: “When you see reporters, when you see Democrats saying, ‘Don’t separate kids from their parents,’ what they’re really saying is don’t arrest illegal aliens.” The New York Times reported on Saturday that Stephen Miller, a hardliner who wrote the original travel ban on a list of Muslim-majority countries, is the chief driver of the separation policy. From 19 April to 31 May, 1,995 children were separated from 1,940 adults, according to DHS figures for official border crossings.
Speaking to reporters at a Republican convention in Texas on Saturday, Cruz said: “There’s no doubt that the images that we’ve seen of children, and children being separated from their parents, are heartbreaking. They were heartbreaking when Obama was president. As the president headed to his golf club on Sunday, Democrats staged protests at detention facilities. O’Rourke organized a march to Tornillo, Texas, and what has been described as a “tent structure” for 16- and 17-year-olds. Some had crossed the border on their own, O’Rourke told CNN. Others had made the journey with their parents and then been forcibly taken away.
“I visited the Obama camps that he set up to detain little boys and little girls who crossed the border illegally. Illegal immigration produces human tragedies that are wrong.” Those minors were now in Tornillo, he said, “with no idea no idea when or if they will see their mothers or their fathers, on this Father’s Day, again. This is inhumane. We will we be judged for what we do or what we fail to do now.”
On Father’s Day, Republicans tweeting messages about their fathers while backing or staying quiet on the Trump separation policy were prey to accusations of hypocrisy. Cruz tweeted a tribute of his own, writing: “My dad has been my hero my whole life. Here’s to wishing a very happy #FathersDay to all the dads out there!” The Oregon senator Jeff Merkley led a group to the border near McAllen and Brownsville, Texas. On the other side of the country, seven members of Congress visited an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey and demanded to speak to parents separated from their children.
One Republican congressman from Texas, who visited the Tornillo camp, said on Saturday it was “a symptom of a flawed strategy”. The group was denied entry for “over an hour”, they said, and police officers were called before they were allowed inside. At one point, New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell wrote, he and another member of Congress were “literally banging on the door to gain entry to the jail to see separated families”.
New York’s Jerry Nadler told press and protesters people inside were “like the majority of migrants traveling from Central America, who are fleeing violence that has been well documented. Parents fleeing such unspeakable violence will do almost anything they can to protect their children from that violence. Instead they are being welcomed by more terror.”
In a message to Trump on CNN, Illinois congressman Luis Guttierez said the president should “just be a dad”. “I’m sure you love your children,” he said. “Love these children the same way you love your own.”
Earlier this week O’Rourke’s opponent, Cruz, defended the Trump policy, saying: “When you see reporters, when you see Democrats saying, ‘Don’t separate kids from their parents,’ what they’re really saying is don’t arrest illegal aliens.”
On Father’s Day, Cruz tweeted: “My dad has been my hero my whole life. Here’s to wishing a very happy #FathersDay to all the dads out there!”
One Republican congressman from Texas who visited the Tornillo camp said on Saturday it was “a symptom of a flawed strategy”.
“In the land of the free and home of the brave we shouldn’t use kids as deterrence,” Will Hurd said.“In the land of the free and home of the brave we shouldn’t use kids as deterrence,” Will Hurd said.
US immigrationUS immigration
Trump administrationTrump administration
DemocratsDemocrats
US politicsUS politics
TexasTexas
MexicoMexico
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content