The Trump administration is not taking into account the effect of such prosecutions on vulnerable children. So children who arrived with one or both parents are being classified as “unaccompanied” once their parents are charged and detained. They are then processed in the same way as a child who arrives at the border without any parent.
On May 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance” policy to criminally charge anyone caught seeking to enter the United States without proper documentation—even in cases when the individual or families are seeking asylum.
In every other administration, the Department of Justice has exercised prosecutorial discretion, criminally charging those entering improperly in some cases, but also taking into account the effect of such prosecutions on vulnerable children. Chief of Staff John Kelly has said this new policy of separating children is designed to serve as a deterrent from those who would consider coming to the US.
Since children cannot be criminally charged when their parents are, this policy inherently means that children—even very small children—are being taken from their parents. According to recent testimony from an official with US Customs and Border Protection, during just the first two weeks of this new policy, 638 parents were prosecuted, affecting 658 children. While children and parents have sometimes been separated under past administrations, this new policy is dramatically increasing these instances.
These children, who arrived with one or both parents, are then classified as “unaccompanied” once their parents are charged and detained. They are then processed in the same way as a child who arrives at the border without any parent.
The new “zero tolerance” policy, which is leading to children being separated from their parents and classified as “unaccompanied,” will likely mean a significant increase in the number of children being transferred to the custody of Health and Human Services and in need of a sponsor. This increases the possibility for unintentional trauma for children who are already fleeing violence or the threat of violence in their home countries.
Under the Trump Administration, the US Refugee Resettlement Program has dramatically reduced the admission of refugees to the US from almost all countries. In 2018, the U.S. is on track to receive only about 22% as many individual as in 2016. Arrivals from almost all countries of origin, including those from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, are down significantly. And the Central American Migrant parole program has been terminated altogether.
With far less hope of a safe, legal option to seek refuge, more desperate families facing threats of violence in their home country feel there is no choice but to seek to arrive unlawfully—only to be separated from their family if they make it.
The full article is available here
