Stoneleigh’s Senior Program Officer Marie Williams discusses why separating children from their parents is no small thing, not only logistically and operationally, but as a long-term proposition that extends far beyond immigration policy.
On April 11, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors along the southwest border of the United States to “adopt immediately a zero-tolerance policy” in response to illegal border crossings. In the year that followed, the administration stepped up its efforts to create disincentives for undocumented immigrants to enter the country including threat of immediate removal, limited access to due process and now, most recently and infamously, separating parents from their children once apprehended for illegal entry.
The separation policy was denounced by many, applauded by a few and even denied by others including—at least initially—the administration itself. In short order, however, whether one supported the policy or not, it became apparent that separating children from their parents is no small thing, not only logistically and operationally, but as a long-term proposition that extends far beyond immigration policy.
