What happens to separated immigrant families?
Immigration has been an extremely controversial and hot topic in the news recently. A large portion of this debate is about whether illegal immigrant families should be kept together, and how to do this in an efficient way. The topic of separated immigrant families is extremely difficult for the US government to find solutions for because they are struggling to find a humanitarian way to deal with people who have committed an illegal crime but not necessarily with bad intentions. This leads to conflict when having to address the fact that they did do something illegal, but still trying to keep in mind that they too are human and in most cases have illegally crossed the border in search of a better life. So what solutions have the government come up with and how are they seeming to work out?
Because so many people are now crossing the border illegally, the government is struggling to find solutions to have people deported while also keeping families together. In an article by the Washington Post, they describe how President Trump's new border control is causing young children to be separated from their families, over 500 migrants have been separated from their parents and are now in U.S. custody. Trump's "zero tolerance policy" was created because having a child with you when illegally crossing the border used to allow immigrants to bypass some laws that made it harder for them to be deported. Now that the zero tolerance policy is in place, illegal immigrants are being separated from their families in the process of deportation. The biggest factor in this separation is the Flores Agreement, it is a law that prohibits the government from putting children in immigrant detention with their parents for more than 20 days. Because of the mass amounts of deportation, it is taking long periods of time: weeks even months before children are reunited with their parents. Trump's administration is hoping to put in place plans that will decrease the number of families crossing illegally. One solution that has been mentioned is called binary choice. In this scenario families have two options, they could stay together in detention while their immigration case moves forward (this process can take years) or, they can allow their children to be taken to a shelter where a relative already in the U.S or a suitable adult can gain custody and help them start their life in the United States. However, the problem with this is that it might encourage illegal immigration because it gives families a chance to allow their children a better life.
In an article by CNBC Trump explains his newest immigration policy. He says that immigrants who cross illegally will not be allowed to seek asylum at all. In a statement by Matthew Whitaker and Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen they say: Our asylum is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it. Today we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility." By doing this the government is hoping to limit the number of people who cross the border illegally by ensuring that they won't be granted protection that the binary choice might have given them.
From a political standpoint, I understand this policy and why it would be put in place. I understand that the government has to prioritize the needs of their own citizens as well as those coming into the United States legally. However, I do wish that the government could find a way to be more careful when it comes to the separation of families because in most cases they are coming in search of a better life, not with ill intentions. Many experts say that the way these children are being separated from their families can cause "permanent emotional harm". I feel like when looking at this from a government point of view, what they are doing makes logistical sense, they are shutting down resources for illegal immigrants in hopes of lowering the number of people coming in illegally. But if you look at it from a humanitarian point of view, many people are coming to the United States because they are in need of a better life. So often in politics, I think we lose the human emotion and connection and focus so largely on logic and justice. While I do think both of those things are so important and completely essential, I think sometimes we need to take a step back and look at it as humans, not politicians, not critics, but as humans. This ability to empathize could maybe help us come up with a solution that still acknowledges that illegal immigration is still illegal, but also doesn't cause emotional harm to children or to their families.
Because so many people are now crossing the border illegally, the government is struggling to find solutions to have people deported while also keeping families together. In an article by the Washington Post, they describe how President Trump's new border control is causing young children to be separated from their families, over 500 migrants have been separated from their parents and are now in U.S. custody. Trump's "zero tolerance policy" was created because having a child with you when illegally crossing the border used to allow immigrants to bypass some laws that made it harder for them to be deported. Now that the zero tolerance policy is in place, illegal immigrants are being separated from their families in the process of deportation. The biggest factor in this separation is the Flores Agreement, it is a law that prohibits the government from putting children in immigrant detention with their parents for more than 20 days. Because of the mass amounts of deportation, it is taking long periods of time: weeks even months before children are reunited with their parents. Trump's administration is hoping to put in place plans that will decrease the number of families crossing illegally. One solution that has been mentioned is called binary choice. In this scenario families have two options, they could stay together in detention while their immigration case moves forward (this process can take years) or, they can allow their children to be taken to a shelter where a relative already in the U.S or a suitable adult can gain custody and help them start their life in the United States. However, the problem with this is that it might encourage illegal immigration because it gives families a chance to allow their children a better life.
In an article by CNBC Trump explains his newest immigration policy. He says that immigrants who cross illegally will not be allowed to seek asylum at all. In a statement by Matthew Whitaker and Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen they say: Our asylum is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it. Today we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility." By doing this the government is hoping to limit the number of people who cross the border illegally by ensuring that they won't be granted protection that the binary choice might have given them.
From a political standpoint, I understand this policy and why it would be put in place. I understand that the government has to prioritize the needs of their own citizens as well as those coming into the United States legally. However, I do wish that the government could find a way to be more careful when it comes to the separation of families because in most cases they are coming in search of a better life, not with ill intentions. Many experts say that the way these children are being separated from their families can cause "permanent emotional harm". I feel like when looking at this from a government point of view, what they are doing makes logistical sense, they are shutting down resources for illegal immigrants in hopes of lowering the number of people coming in illegally. But if you look at it from a humanitarian point of view, many people are coming to the United States because they are in need of a better life. So often in politics, I think we lose the human emotion and connection and focus so largely on logic and justice. While I do think both of those things are so important and completely essential, I think sometimes we need to take a step back and look at it as humans, not politicians, not critics, but as humans. This ability to empathize could maybe help us come up with a solution that still acknowledges that illegal immigration is still illegal, but also doesn't cause emotional harm to children or to their families.
