After a long and uphill battle, some members of migrant families have been reunited after jail time and separation at the border of Mexico and the United States of America.
Many recent events have piled up leading to the long-awaited reunion of families across the Mexican-American border.
Starting in April of this year, the Trump administration family separation policy became part of Trump’s immigration policies — “zero tolerance” policy. The zero-tolerance policy in law is usually strict, and does not let the government make any exceptions for anyone or change any laws. More than 2,500 children have been separated from their parents. The parents would get deported, while the children oftentimes stayed in the United States on their own. On June 20, the policy was canceled through an executive order by Donald Trump after a decision by Judge Dana M. Sabraw called for a halt to the cruel practice.
Throughout this time, children were separated from their parents and placed into actual cages where they slept on the floors. The spaces were compared to concentration camps. Many cases of abuse and sexual harassment have been reported. The children were later questioned in court, being asked questions they could not answer, and this gained worldwide attention and criticism.
Throughout the time of the events, many of the mothers have been told by Border Control that “their families don’t exist anymore.” The actions executed by the Trump administration have been inhumane from the start, and have been criticized by both religious and human rights groups all around the world.
Finally, as of July 26, approximately 1,820 children have been reunited with their families. Another 700 children are not able to reunite with their parents because they have been classified as ineligible for reunification. There are an additional 43I children who cannot even see their parents anymore because their families have been deported; the so-called “system” has been a mess of chaos, disorganization, and havoc from the very beginning.
Another 1,442 children that are aged five and up have been joined with their families, but 378 have been taken care of by other sponsors.
It has been reported that many children could not even recognize their own parents after a few harsh and cruel months of separation. After the children and parents’ releases, they are still being monitored by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials; some wearing ankle bracelets. Many victims of Trump’s policies are being aided and supported by human rights and religious groups, where they are being provided with accommodations, clothes, and meals.
Many parents are still trying to find their children, as the process of reunification is not fully complete yet. Family attorneys will further investigate the cases of parents with criminal records, the cases of children who have been taken in by sponsors, and parents who have been deported.
Although some progress has been made, this never should have happened, and the U.S. has a long way to go to make things right.