Lately, the news has been filled with stories about the separation of almost 3,000 families at the southern US border. Some have crossed illegally, while others are seeking asylum, but either way, none of the families are safe from being split up by US Border Patrol. Here is everything you need to know about this issue, and what you can do about it.
WHY ARE THEY SEPARATING FAMILIES AT THE BORDER?
Prior to the Trump Administration, children were only separated from their families for safety issues or if they would truly be better off in the hands of another guardian. Even then, the children were typically old enough to take quality care of themselves. Now, children from the ages of 0-17 are being separated from their parents. Border Patrol agents have been reported to have lied to families about why and how long their children are being taken away for, some agents even saying that they’re taking their child away for a bath then returning them. People who have illegally crossed or are seeking asylum have both been suffering from this policy as the adults are being taken to jail or a detention center while awaiting trial. The US has certain protections in place for asylum seeking families, and the sudden crack-down on them is unexplained, and the policy of putting them in jail before trial is new as well.
WHERE ARE THEY TAKING THE CHILDREN?
The children separated from their families are first taken to Customs and Border Protection facilities, which are short-term stays where many children have been reported to be kept in cages. One young girl even told the story of how she had to change the diapers of babies around her. Then, within 72 hours the children are supposed to be taken to ORR (Offices of Refugee Resettlement) facilities, that are long-term shelters similar to foster care. Many of these facilities are full and over-flowing causing greater issues than the facilities already had.
IS THE SEPARATION LEGAL?
Although the policy of separating families is new, it is built on and comes along with problems the immigration system has had for years. There is no law that requires separation of families, despite Trump’s tweet stating “Separating families at the Border is the fault of bad legislation passed by the Democrats. Border Security laws should be changed but the Dems can’t get their act together! Started the Wall.” and there is no law stating that everyone, including asylum seekers can be charged with illegal entry. The Trump administration tries to defend the enforcement of separation with the argument that criminal defendants, in jail, don’t have a right to their children, but the question is, does the administration have the legal authority to put asylum-seeking parents in jail to wait for trial, knowing this is splitting up families?
DID TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER STOP THE SEPARATION & DOES IT MEAN THE FAMILIES WILL BE REUNITED?
Earlier this week, Trump made an executive order that reverses the separation of families policy, and says that families can and will be detained together. The administration later released their plan to reunite the 2,000+ children separated from their families. Under the plan, the children will stay in government custody and not be reunited with their families until after the parent’s deportation trials are finished. The government is also working on better databases that can connect the children with their parents efficiently and quickly. So far few families have been reunited, and the slow process will continue.
In the grand scheme of things, the separation of families is very much a human rights violation for the suffering and hardship it puts the parents and children through. Although the government is working to fix and stop this issue, it is important to continue to hold them accountable for this awful separation until the entirety of the reunification process is completed. It is also essential to ensure that this family separation does not continue to happen.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
- Call your senator or representative and let them know you stand with the Reunification Act that keeps families together.
- Visit @supportkind on Instagram for more details for how to help and to keep up with more news about Family Separation.
- Call your senator or representative and let them know you stand with the Reunification Act that keeps families together.
RESOURCES
Faces of Feminism 