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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
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LIRascal
drama. daily.
Member since 3/11 7287 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
So far, almost 2000 migrant children, some as young as a year old are being separately detained from their parents in a crackdown that began on or around April 7th.
Now, we know that in the past, this has happened if and only if the parent had been charged and convicted of a crime and they re-entered the US with the child. However, they were soon reunited and the situation was handled by Immigration courts. These so-called "kennels" were used to detain and temporarily house undocumented UnAccompanied minors, mostly teens. The facilities were decent and meals were provided, including education and services to help relocate and reunite them with their families, if possible.
As a general rule, in the past, a "family unit" cannot be separated. This consists of an adult and at least one biological child or grandchild. Now, this measure of "shaking down" these family units is to weed out the smugglers of children who weren't related. While this has been an issue, it is a tiny fraction of the family units entering.
From the Washington Post:
"Even given the increased number of alleged smugglers this fiscal year and the decreased number of family units, those smugglers, those traffickers, those MS-13 members make up only 0.61 percent of the total number of family units apprehended at the border. In other words, for every 1,000 families that approached the border in the first five months of this fiscal year, only six allegedly involved individuals pretending to be a child’s parents. The percentage of alleged smugglers in fiscal 2017 was smaller, at 0.1 percent."
Now, the issue has erupted into a crisis. From CNN:
"A Trump administration policy now charges every adult caught crossing the border illegally with federal crimes, as opposed to referring those with children mainly to immigration courts, as previous administrations did. Because the government is charging the parents in the criminal justice system, children are separated from them, without a clear procedure for their reunification aside from hotlines the parents can call to try to track their children down.
The policy to refer all adults for charges was publicly announced May 7, but the Justice Department announced it would prosecute 100% of the cases referred to it at the beginning of April."
Message edited 6/18/2018 10:49:15 PM.
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Posted 6/18/18 10:48 PM  |
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RainyDay
LIF Adult
Member since 6/15 3989 total posts
Name:
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
I honestly think his crackdown is going to backfire on him more than it's going to deters these people from trying to cross the border. It's a shame. It makes Americans look ruthless. I'm all for people coming here legally but this isnt the way to prevent it.
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| Posted 6/19/18 9:02 AM |
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
This is honestly horrifying. The idea of taking children (young children, including toddlers as young as 1) away from their parents, who are here seeking asylum, with no plan for reunification is cruel and inhumane. What are they planing to do with these children that they're traumatizing? I'd assume they'll eventually need to place them into foster care or with relatives, but the system already has a hard time processing the kids that were unaccompanied, now we're pulling kids away from their families with no plan and traumatizing them while they're still at important developmental stages. There is no justification for doing this to children.
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| Posted 6/19/18 12:11 PM |
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StaceyLu
LIF Adolescent
Member since 2/17 572 total posts
Name:
Stacey
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Trump tweets
"Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!"
What an unimaginably pathetic excuse for a human being this president is.
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| Posted 6/19/18 12:31 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
This whole thing is just horrifying to me. Trump is completely unhinged at this point. He is not making ANY decisions right now that are in the best interest of this country or its people. He's power hungry and so engrossed in trying to be perceived as a "bad a$$" that he has lost whatever shred of humanity and empathy he may have had. As long as his base is cheering, he'll keep on making one dumb decision after another.
I don't think people should be allowed into the country illegally although, I also understand why they are fleeing in any way they can. But you do NOT secure your borders and control immigration by ripping children from their parents. There is NO reason these families couldn't be detained together. There is NO reason to be prosecuting EVERY single person in the hopes that you're sending a message. This will not have the desired effect he's looking for.
This country is fast going downhill. Mocking our allies, starting trade wars, alienating us from the rest of the world and now ripping families apart??? What in the actual f$%k is going on and how can anyone with a soul or even an inkling of empathy think that what he's doing is ok???????
To make matters worse, this garbage president has the NERVE to not even own his actions. Real tough guy he is.  Instead, he makes up lie after lie blaming everyone, EVERYONE, but himself for why these families are being separated. He's a real piece of work.
WAKE UP AMERICA!! This $hitshow is NOT going to end well for the citizens of this country.
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| Posted 6/19/18 1:29 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by StaceyLu
Trump tweets
"Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!"
What an unimaginably pathetic excuse for a human being this president is.
The fact that he is calling immigrants, PEOPLE with emotions and feelings, ANIMALS and has the nerve to use the words, "infesting our country" is VERY telling of the man he is.
Be afraid America. Be VERY afraid.
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| Posted 6/19/18 1:31 PM |
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by Hofstra26
I don't think people should be allowed into the country illegally although, I also understand why they are fleeing in any way they can. But you do NOT secure your borders and control immigration by ripping children from their parents. There is NO reason these families couldn't be detained together. There is NO reason to be prosecuting EVERY single person in the hopes that you're sending a message. This will not have the desired effect he's looking for.
Also, many of these families are seeking asylum, so they are legally entering the country when their children are taken away. Those that are being prosecuted are being prosecuted for not checking in at an entry point, but that's a misdemeanor. This isn't some major crime. The courts typically sentence them to time served while on trial, and then the person is referred to the immigration courts to decide their asylum case, but in the meantime their kids are put into a system and there is no way to get them out. Imagine if you lost your kid for committing a misdemeanor and had no way to find out where they were or what was happening to them.
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| Posted 6/19/18 2:37 PM |
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SusiBee
. . . . .
Member since 3/09 8268 total posts
Name:
S
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
It is absolutely horrifying what is happening to these children.
Send them back home with their families. There is nothing to be gained from detaining them, you want to be tough on immigration, send them home.
Don't be such an asshole about it, blaming the Democrats for the "law" that allows the children to be taken from their parents. There is no such law, and I don't recall our Democratic President ripping children away from their families and housing them in cages.
He is just using this circus to justify building the flucking wall, at the expense of these families trying to find a better way of life.
Illegals will still find a way to get into the US, wall or no wall.
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| Posted 6/19/18 2:37 PM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
I am distraught over this. Every time I see it on the news I want to cry. I can't believe this is happening in our own country. How can this be?? I understand how cumbersome the illegal flow is on the living conditions, economy, etc. in border states and I understand there is certainly an illegal immigration problem in this country but to take children away from their parents??? Strangers caring for these little guys? I don't think so! These kids must be so frightened and nobody is there to give them a reassuring little hug. Ugh it breaks my heart! Maybe this will serve as a deterrent to illegal immigration in the future but there has got to be a better way. This is just wrong.
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| Posted 6/19/18 3:12 PM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by SusiBee
It is absolutely horrifying what is happening to these children.
Send them back home with their families. There is nothing to be gained from detaining them, you want to be tough on immigration, send them home.
Don't be such an asshole about it, blaming the Democrats for the "law" that allows the children to be taken from their parents. There is no such law, and I don't recall our Democratic President ripping children away from their families and housing them in cages.
He is just using this circus to justify building the flucking wall, at the expense of these families trying to find a better way of life.
Illegals will still find a way to get into the US, wall or no wall.
ITA!!!
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| Posted 6/19/18 3:13 PM |
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Story about a migrant who has his 1 year old taken away.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/migrant-seeking-asylum-says-his-toddler-was-taken-away-at-the-u-s-border
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| Posted 6/19/18 3:24 PM |
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MC09
arrrghhh!!!!
Member since 2/09 5674 total posts
Name:
Me speaks pirate!
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
What are the plans for reuniting these traumatized children with their families so they don't get lost in the system or worse? Are there any? This is a disgusting, horrifying abomination! I guess we haven't changed much in 200 years after all.
The disgusting comments about abuse and torture some "people" who willfully support this practice are voluntarily posting on the internet under pictures of these poor kids crying in cages... I just can't with this filth. Society has become a shameless cesspool of garbage.
Message edited 6/19/2018 3:46:20 PM.
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| Posted 6/19/18 3:37 PM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by MC09
What are the plans for reuniting these traumatized children with their families so they don't get lost in the system or worse? Are there any? This is a disgusting, horrifying abomination! I guess we haven't changed much in 200 years after all.
The disgusting comments about abuse and torture some "people" who willfully support this practice are voluntarily posting on the internet under pictures of these poor kids crying in cages... I just can't with this filth. Society has become a shameless cesspool of garbage.
There are no real plans for reuniting families. Humans have always been horrible, but now the worst of them get to announce themselves to the entire world, so we see more of them.
This is 100% on IQ45. There is NO law saying we separate families. This is HIS policy. It would take a single tweet from him to stop this, but he would rather use people as bargaining chips because he doesn't actually know how to negotiate anything....
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| Posted 6/19/18 4:17 PM |
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by GoldenRod
Posted by MC09
What are the plans for reuniting these traumatized children with their families so they don't get lost in the system or worse? Are there any? This is a disgusting, horrifying abomination! I guess we haven't changed much in 200 years after all.
The disgusting comments about abuse and torture some "people" who willfully support this practice are voluntarily posting on the internet under pictures of these poor kids crying in cages... I just can't with this filth. Society has become a shameless cesspool of garbage.
There are no real plans for reuniting families. Humans have always been horrible, but now the worst of them get to announce themselves to the entire world, so we see more of them.
This is 100% on IQ45. There is NO law saying we separate families. This is HIS policy. It would take a single tweet from him to stop this, but he would rather use people as bargaining chips because he doesn't actually know how to negotiate anything....
All his supporters on Facebook think it's been the law since 1997 and Obama did the same thing, so why is it suddenly a problem now.
Sometimes I really kind of hate people. I know if I argue with them it will go nowhere.
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| Posted 6/19/18 5:01 PM |
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SusiBee
. . . . .
Member since 3/09 8268 total posts
Name:
S
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by starbrightgirl8
All his supporters on Facebook think it's been the law since 1997 and Obama did the same thing, so why is it suddenly a problem now.
Sometimes I really kind of hate people. I know if I argue with them it will go nowhere.
Because if it is on the internet, it''s true !
Of course 1997 - because that was when Bill Clinton was President.
That would also mean that the next President, a REPUBLICAN would have also used this "law".
Hmmmnnn, something is missing here.
The truth perhaps.
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| Posted 6/19/18 7:57 PM |
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LIRascal
drama. daily.
Member since 3/11 7287 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
It's not really a new issue- Children had been separated from their parents and sent to a sponsor in the past if their parents were detained. It was however, an attempt to keep the kids safe so they're not in a detention center with strange adults. This policy was also attempting to deter new undocumented immigrants from coming in.
Then, they realized that these sponsors weren't who we thought they were: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/obama-administration-placed-children-with-human-traffickers-report-says/2016/01/28/39465050-c542-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html?utm_term=.c2560a459b7f
The Obama administration failed to protect thousands of Central American children who have flooded across the U.S. border since 2011, leaving them vulnerable to traffickers and to abuses at the hands of government-approved caretakers, a Senate investigation has found.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, failed to do proper background checks of adults who claimed the children, allowed sponsors to take custody of multiple unrelated children, and regularly placed children in homes without visiting the locations, according to a 56-page investigative report released Thursday.
And once the children left federally funded shelters, the report said, the agency permitted their adult sponsors to prevent caseworkers from providing them post-release services.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) initiated the six-month investigation after several Guatemalan teens were found in a dilapidated trailer park near Marion, Ohio, where they were being held captive by traffickers and forced to work at a local egg farm. The boys were among more than 125,000 unaccompanied minors who have surged into the United States since 2011, fleeing violence and unrest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Message edited 6/20/2018 12:37:03 AM.
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| Posted 6/20/18 12:33 AM |
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Momma2015
Mommax2
Member since 12/12 6655 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by LIRascal
It's not really a new issue- Children had been separated from their parents and sent to a sponsor in the past if their parents were detained. It was however, an attempt to keep the kids safe so they're not in a detention center with strange adults. This policy was also attempting to deter new undocumented immigrants from coming in.
Then, they realized that these sponsors weren't who we thought they were: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/obama-administration-placed-children-with-human-traffickers-report-says/2016/01/28/39465050-c542-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html?utm_term=.c2560a459b7f
The Obama administration failed to protect thousands of Central American children who have flooded across the U.S. border since 2011, leaving them vulnerable to traffickers and to abuses at the hands of government-approved caretakers, a Senate investigation has found.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, failed to do proper background checks of adults who claimed the children, allowed sponsors to take custody of multiple unrelated children, and regularly placed children in homes without visiting the locations, according to a 56-page investigative report released Thursday.
And once the children left federally funded shelters, the report said, the agency permitted their adult sponsors to prevent caseworkers from providing them post-release services.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) initiated the six-month investigation after several Guatemalan teens were found in a dilapidated trailer park near Marion, Ohio, where they were being held captive by traffickers and forced to work at a local egg farm. The boys were among more than 125,000 unaccompanied minors who have surged into the United States since 2011, fleeing violence and unrest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Actually, the sponsors and the detained children were unaccompanied minors who crossed the border. It says it in the article you posted and I've read this on multiple sites. They were not with their families. It was NOT a policy of the Obama administration to separate families. Families stayed at detention centers together while awaiting trial which lasted a short period of time (I think it was 21 days?) because young children were not legally allowed to be detained in these centers for longer than that as they weren't equipped with facilities for children (education, etc.). So it IS a new issue. Background checks on the sponsors or lack there of is entirely separate from ripping toddlers away from their parents.
Message edited 6/20/2018 8:20:58 AM.
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| Posted 6/20/18 8:20 AM |
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Separating families is a NEW policy by Trump. The allegations about Obama's administration deal with unaccompanied minors who cross the border - who were typically teenagers. They were held in detention centers until a sponsor, family member, or foster could be found. Children, especially young children, who crossed with their parents were kept with their parents by prior administrations.
Trump's primary new policy that is separating families is that any one who doesn't check in at a border entry point is charged with a misdemeanor. The parents are put in jail until they plea guilty and are released with time served. Their children can't be held in jail, so they're taken away from them. Then after the parents are released, there is no process to reunite them with their child.
Under prior administrations, discretion was used about who was charged and typically people with young children were not charged, but just referred to an immigration court so the family could stay together in a detention center. Law enforcement uses discretion all the time about who to charge, especially for misdemeanors which are minor crimes. Charging the parents accomplishes nothing other than separating them from their children, and in the end they still can claim asylum and still go through the same immigration process.
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| Posted 6/20/18 8:57 AM |
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Saw this on facebook, and I thought it did a great job of addressing the misinformation that is being spread.
Have you heard that children were separated from their parents under Obama & Clinton? Then, you need a little Facts vs Myths lesson. Michelle Martin, PhD Cal State Fullerton summed up the most important FACTS:
There is so much misinformation out there about the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy that requires criminal prosecution, which then warrants the separating of parents and children at the border. Before responding to a post defending this policy, please do your research...As a professor at a local Cal State, I research and write about these issues, so here, I'll make it easier for you:
Myth: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton - FALSE. The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the brainchild of John Kelly and Stephen Miller to serve as a deterrent for undocumented immigration, approved by Trump, and adopted by Sessions. Prior administrations detained migrant families, but didn’t have a practice of forcibly separating parents from their children unless the adults were deemed unfit. https://www.justice.gov/…/press-rele…/file/1049751/download…
Myth: This is the only way to deter undocumented immigration - FALSE. Annual trends show that arrests for undocumented entry are at a 46 year low, and undocumented crossings dropped in 2007, with a net loss (more people leaving than arriving). Deportations have increased steadily though (spiking in 1996 and more recently), because several laws that were passed since 1996 have made it legally more difficult to gain legal status for people already here, and thus increased their deportations (I address this later under the myth that it's the Democrats' fault). What we mostly have now are people crossing the border illegally because they've already been hired by a US company, or because they are seeking political asylum. Economic migrants come to this country because our country has kept the demand going. But again, many of these people impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy appear to be political asylum-seekers. https://www.npr.org/…/arrests-for-illegal-border-crossings-…
Myth: Most of the people coming across the border are just trying to take advantage of our country by taking our jobs - FALSE. Most of the parents who have been impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy have presented themselves as political asylum-seekers at a U.S. port-of-entry, from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Rather than processing their claims, they have been taken into custody on the spot and had their children ripped from their arms. The ACLU alleges that this practice violates the Asylum Act, and the UN asserts that it violates the UN Treaty on the State of Refugees, one of the few treaties the US has ratified. This is an illegal act on the part of the United States government, not to mention morally and ethically reprehensible. https://www.nytimes.com/…/meatpackers-profits-hinge-on-pool…
Myth: We're a country that respects the Rule of Law, and if people break the law, this is what they get - FALSE. We are a country that has an above-ground system of immigration and an underground system. Our government (under both parties) has always been aware that US companies recruit workers in the poorest parts of Mexico for cheap labor, and ICE (and its predecessor INS) has looked the other way because this underground economy benefits our country to the tune of billions of dollars annually. Thus, even though the majority of people crossing the border now are asylum-seekers, those who are economic migrants (migrant workers) likely have been recruited here to do jobs Americans will not do. https://www.upi.com/…/Donald-Trumps-wall-ign…/2621477498203/
Myth: The children have to be separated from their parents because there parents must be arrested and it would be cruel to put children in jail with their parents - FALSE. First, in the case of economic migrants crossing the border illegally, criminal prosecution has not been the legal norm, and families have been kept together at all cost. Also, crossing the border without documentation is a typically a misdemeanor not requiring arrest, but rather a civil proceeding. Additionally, parents who have been detained have historically been detained with their children in ICE "family residential centers," again, for civil processing. The Trump administration's shift in policy is for political purposes only, not legal ones. See p. 18: https://www.aclu.org/…/ms-l-v-ice-plaintiffs-opposition-def…
Myth: We have rampant fraud in our asylum process the proof of which is the significant increase we have in the number of people applying for asylum. FALSE. The increase in asylum seekers is a direct result of the increase in civil conflict and violence across the globe. While some people may believe that we shouldn't allow any refugees into our country because "it's not our problem," neither our current asylum law, nor our ideological foundation as a country support such an isolationist approach. There is very little evidence to support Sessions' claim that abuse of our asylum-seeking policies is rampant. Also, what Sessions failed to mention is that the majority of asylum seekers are from China, not South of the border. Here is a very fair and balanced assessment of his statements: http://www.politifact.com/…/jeff-sessions-claim-about-asyl…/
Myth: The Democrats caused this, "it's their law." FALSE. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats caused this, the Trump administration did (although the Republicans could fix this today, and have refused). I believe what this myth refers to is the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which were both passed under Clinton in 1996. These laws essentially made unauthorized entry into the US a crime (typically a misdemeanor for first-time offenders), but under both Republicans and Democrats, these cases were handled through civil deportation proceedings, not a criminal proceeding, which did not require separation. And again, even in cases where detainment was required, families were always kept together in family residential centers, unless the parents were deemed unfit (as mentioned above). Thus, Trump's assertion that he hates this policy but has no choice but to separate the parents from their children, because the Democrats "gave us this law" is false and nothing more than propaganda designed to compel negotiation on bad policy. https://www.independent.co.uk/…/trump-democrats-us-border-m…
Myth: The parents and children will be reunited shortly, once the parents' court cases are finalized. FALSE. Criminal court is a vastly different beast than civil court proceedings. Also, the children are being processed as unaccompanied minors ("unaccompanied alien children"), which typically means they are sent into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS). Under normal circumstances when a child enters the country without his or her parent, ORR attempts to locate a family member within a few weeks, and the child is then released to a family member, or if a family member cannot be located, the child is placed in a residential center (anywhere in the country), or in some cases, foster care. Prior to Trump's new policy, ORR was operating at 95% capacity, and they simply cannot effectively manage the influx of 2000+ children, some as young as 4 months. Also, keep in mind, these are not unaccompanied minor children, they have parents. There is great legal ambiguity on how and even whether the parents will get their children back because we are in uncharted territory right now. According to the ACLU lawsuit (see below), there is currently no easy vehicle for reuniting parents with their children. Additionally, according to a May 2018 report, numerous cases of verbal, physical and sexual abuse were found to have occurred in these residential centers. https://www.aclu.org/…/aclu-obtains-documents-showing-wides…
Myth: This policy is legal. LIKELY FALSE. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on 5/6/18, and a recent court ruling denied the government's motion to dismiss the suit. The judge deciding the case stated that the Trump Administration policy is "brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency." The case is moving forward because it was deemed to have legal merit. https://www.bloomberg.com/…/aclu-suit-over-child-separation…
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| Posted 6/20/18 2:31 PM |
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Momma2015
Mommax2
Member since 12/12 6655 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by starbrightgirl8
Saw this on facebook, and I thought it did a great job of addressing the misinformation that is being spread.
Have you heard that children were separated from their parents under Obama & Clinton? Then, you need a little Facts vs Myths lesson. Michelle Martin, PhD Cal State Fullerton summed up the most important FACTS:
There is so much misinformation out there about the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy that requires criminal prosecution, which then warrants the separating of parents and children at the border. Before responding to a post defending this policy, please do your research...As a professor at a local Cal State, I research and write about these issues, so here, I'll make it easier for you:
Myth: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton - FALSE. The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the brainchild of John Kelly and Stephen Miller to serve as a deterrent for undocumented immigration, approved by Trump, and adopted by Sessions. Prior administrations detained migrant families, but didn’t have a practice of forcibly separating parents from their children unless the adults were deemed unfit. https://www.justice.gov/…/press-rele…/file/1049751/download…
Myth: This is the only way to deter undocumented immigration - FALSE. Annual trends show that arrests for undocumented entry are at a 46 year low, and undocumented crossings dropped in 2007, with a net loss (more people leaving than arriving). Deportations have increased steadily though (spiking in 1996 and more recently), because several laws that were passed since 1996 have made it legally more difficult to gain legal status for people already here, and thus increased their deportations (I address this later under the myth that it's the Democrats' fault). What we mostly have now are people crossing the border illegally because they've already been hired by a US company, or because they are seeking political asylum. Economic migrants come to this country because our country has kept the demand going. But again, many of these people impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy appear to be political asylum-seekers. https://www.npr.org/…/arrests-for-illegal-border-crossings-…
Myth: Most of the people coming across the border are just trying to take advantage of our country by taking our jobs - FALSE. Most of the parents who have been impacted by Trump's "zero tolerance" policy have presented themselves as political asylum-seekers at a U.S. port-of-entry, from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Rather than processing their claims, they have been taken into custody on the spot and had their children ripped from their arms. The ACLU alleges that this practice violates the Asylum Act, and the UN asserts that it violates the UN Treaty on the State of Refugees, one of the few treaties the US has ratified. This is an illegal act on the part of the United States government, not to mention morally and ethically reprehensible. https://www.nytimes.com/…/meatpackers-profits-hinge-on-pool…
Myth: We're a country that respects the Rule of Law, and if people break the law, this is what they get - FALSE. We are a country that has an above-ground system of immigration and an underground system. Our government (under both parties) has always been aware that US companies recruit workers in the poorest parts of Mexico for cheap labor, and ICE (and its predecessor INS) has looked the other way because this underground economy benefits our country to the tune of billions of dollars annually. Thus, even though the majority of people crossing the border now are asylum-seekers, those who are economic migrants (migrant workers) likely have been recruited here to do jobs Americans will not do. https://www.upi.com/…/Donald-Trumps-wall-ign…/2621477498203/
Myth: The children have to be separated from their parents because there parents must be arrested and it would be cruel to put children in jail with their parents - FALSE. First, in the case of economic migrants crossing the border illegally, criminal prosecution has not been the legal norm, and families have been kept together at all cost. Also, crossing the border without documentation is a typically a misdemeanor not requiring arrest, but rather a civil proceeding. Additionally, parents who have been detained have historically been detained with their children in ICE "family residential centers," again, for civil processing. The Trump administration's shift in policy is for political purposes only, not legal ones. See p. 18: https://www.aclu.org/…/ms-l-v-ice-plaintiffs-opposition-def…
Myth: We have rampant fraud in our asylum process the proof of which is the significant increase we have in the number of people applying for asylum. FALSE. The increase in asylum seekers is a direct result of the increase in civil conflict and violence across the globe. While some people may believe that we shouldn't allow any refugees into our country because "it's not our problem," neither our current asylum law, nor our ideological foundation as a country support such an isolationist approach. There is very little evidence to support Sessions' claim that abuse of our asylum-seeking policies is rampant. Also, what Sessions failed to mention is that the majority of asylum seekers are from China, not South of the border. Here is a very fair and balanced assessment of his statements: http://www.politifact.com/…/jeff-sessions-claim-about-asyl…/
Myth: The Democrats caused this, "it's their law." FALSE. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats caused this, the Trump administration did (although the Republicans could fix this today, and have refused). I believe what this myth refers to is the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which were both passed under Clinton in 1996. These laws essentially made unauthorized entry into the US a crime (typically a misdemeanor for first-time offenders), but under both Republicans and Democrats, these cases were handled through civil deportation proceedings, not a criminal proceeding, which did not require separation. And again, even in cases where detainment was required, families were always kept together in family residential centers, unless the parents were deemed unfit (as mentioned above). Thus, Trump's assertion that he hates this policy but has no choice but to separate the parents from their children, because the Democrats "gave us this law" is false and nothing more than propaganda designed to compel negotiation on bad policy. https://www.independent.co.uk/…/trump-democrats-us-border-m…
Myth: The parents and children will be reunited shortly, once the parents' court cases are finalized. FALSE. Criminal court is a vastly different beast than civil court proceedings. Also, the children are being processed as unaccompanied minors ("unaccompanied alien children"), which typically means they are sent into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS). Under normal circumstances when a child enters the country without his or her parent, ORR attempts to locate a family member within a few weeks, and the child is then released to a family member, or if a family member cannot be located, the child is placed in a residential center (anywhere in the country), or in some cases, foster care. Prior to Trump's new policy, ORR was operating at 95% capacity, and they simply cannot effectively manage the influx of 2000+ children, some as young as 4 months. Also, keep in mind, these are not unaccompanied minor children, they have parents. There is great legal ambiguity on how and even whether the parents will get their children back because we are in uncharted territory right now. According to the ACLU lawsuit (see below), there is currently no easy vehicle for reuniting parents with their children. Additionally, according to a May 2018 report, numerous cases of verbal, physical and sexual abuse were found to have occurred in these residential centers. https://www.aclu.org/…/aclu-obtains-documents-showing-wides…
Myth: This policy is legal. LIKELY FALSE. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on 5/6/18, and a recent court ruling denied the government's motion to dismiss the suit. The judge deciding the case stated that the Trump Administration policy is "brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency." The case is moving forward because it was deemed to have legal merit. https://www.bloomberg.com/…/aclu-suit-over-child-separation…
This is fantastic. I can't believe some of the wild bullsh!t I've been hearing. And even worse is the people who just don't care. "Womp womp"- yes, that's an appropriate reaction. It's absolutely sickening.
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| Posted 6/20/18 2:56 PM |
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BriBri2u
L'amore vince sempre
Member since 5/05 9320 total posts
Name:
Mrs. B
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
I want to vomit at the Trump supporters on my FB who actually condone what is happening and believe it is right. Sick to my stomach at what I am reading.
You NEVER bring kids into this kind of BS, NEVER. Anyone that cant imagine what these parents and children are going through is a heartless, soulless thing. You will all get yours - karma comes knocking down hard.
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| Posted 6/20/18 3:22 PM |
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Funkybutt
LIF Adult
Member since 4/15 3049 total posts
Name:
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
One of my mom's religious friends posted some crap and my mom liked it, of course.
It said: You know who else is separated from their kids? Every soldier and police officer KILLED while DEFENDING our safety!
My response (since she's going to believe whatever crap Fox News tells her to believe): Except those children have another parent or family members to comfort them and take care of them in a loving environment.
No one else responded.... of course.
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| Posted 6/20/18 4:22 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by Momma2015
Posted by LIRascal
It's not really a new issue- Children had been separated from their parents and sent to a sponsor in the past if their parents were detained. It was however, an attempt to keep the kids safe so they're not in a detention center with strange adults. This policy was also attempting to deter new undocumented immigrants from coming in.
Then, they realized that these sponsors weren't who we thought they were: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/obama-administration-placed-children-with-human-traffickers-report-says/2016/01/28/39465050-c542-11e5-9693-933a4d31bcc8_story.html?utm_term=.c2560a459b7f
The Obama administration failed to protect thousands of Central American children who have flooded across the U.S. border since 2011, leaving them vulnerable to traffickers and to abuses at the hands of government-approved caretakers, a Senate investigation has found.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, failed to do proper background checks of adults who claimed the children, allowed sponsors to take custody of multiple unrelated children, and regularly placed children in homes without visiting the locations, according to a 56-page investigative report released Thursday.
And once the children left federally funded shelters, the report said, the agency permitted their adult sponsors to prevent caseworkers from providing them post-release services.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) initiated the six-month investigation after several Guatemalan teens were found in a dilapidated trailer park near Marion, Ohio, where they were being held captive by traffickers and forced to work at a local egg farm. The boys were among more than 125,000 unaccompanied minors who have surged into the United States since 2011, fleeing violence and unrest in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Actually, the sponsors and the detained children were unaccompanied minors who crossed the border. It says it in the article you posted and I've read this on multiple sites. They were not with their families. It was NOT a policy of the Obama administration to separate families. Families stayed at detention centers together while awaiting trial which lasted a short period of time (I think it was 21 days?) because young children were not legally allowed to be detained in these centers for longer than that as they weren't equipped with facilities for children (education, etc.). So it IS a new issue. Background checks on the sponsors or lack there of is entirely separate from ripping toddlers away from their parents.
This is what I've read as well. I did see that the Trump administration wants to ramp up scrutiny into potential sponsors including ICE fingerprinting and doing background checks for everyone in the home. Something tells me that's going to make sponsors more scarce. If LIRascal's post is true then they certainly need better checks for sponsors but when you throw all these extra kids into the system how do you achieve that? Where will all these kids end up when there's no good system for reuniting families, parents being deported without their children, and essentially orphanages being created for young or disabled children? We're creating a problem of unaccompanied minors by putting these kids into the system where many could end up staying for years. Such a disaster.
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| Posted 6/20/18 4:23 PM |
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Re: Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
Posted by Funkybutt
One of my mom's religious friends posted some crap and my mom liked it, of course.
It said: You know who else is separated from their kids? Every soldier and police officer KILLED while DEFENDING our safety!
My response (since she's going to believe whatever crap Fox News tells her to believe): Except those children have another parent or family members to comfort them and take care of them in a loving environment.
No one else responded.... of course.
And they are in their homes, not in a CAGE
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| Posted 6/20/18 4:28 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Children separated from their families at the border: what we know
This is sickening. I was just reading an account about how some border patrol agents separate families right in the field to process them separately. At the adult's eventual hearing the agents testify only they they were with a child and have no further info about the child. When you take young children and toddlers how tf are you going to know who they are to reunite them with their parents. These parents may never see their children again. I sincerely hope this is not common practice but even one time is too many.
Message edited 6/20/2018 4:38:07 PM.
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| Posted 6/20/18 4:36 PM |
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