Minor Offenses From Long Ago Are Keeping Dozens of Migrant Families Separated

Rather than debate the merits, or otherwise, of this particular case what we should be asking is whether we want our government treating people like this, whether they broke the law or not. There's nothing in the constitution that says the Bill of Rights applies only to citizens. Many people back then, and for years afterwards, were not citizens. Even today there are millions of people who are in this country legally but are not citizens. Does the Bill of Rights not apply to them? The problem, as Ronald Reagan said, is the government. That was in a different context but it sure applies to the present one.

It’s hard to believe, but my understanding is that each of these kids illegally dragged across the border are costing tax payers about $700 per day in detention . I’ve also heard that a single-family in detention costs taxpayers about $250,000 per year. Instead of doling out all of that money for people that are breaking our laws, why don’t we just turn them away at the border or return them to their countries of origin immediately? There’s no shortage of needy American citizens that would benefit from the resources that were now using for people that are here illegally.

In this country, if a parent puts their child in any kind of danger the child is separated from the parent immediately. Some mothers have had their children taken away after for leaving them in the car alone for just 15 minutes. And yet, here you have parents knowingly doing something illegal, subjecting their kids to smugglers and what not and folks are screaming in their defense. The hypocrisy is astounding.

This man knew full well what he was doing here, hauling along his little daughter to gain entry. He treated his daughter as a pawn, he should be sent back and his child returned as well to her mother. This is not a person we need or want to admit into our country. This guy has clearly abused our system and will try every which way to get an in. These tactics are not uncommon. Children used to get the sympathy pass in the past. Not any longer. Hopefully this word will get out but I seriously think it will not dissuade them from continuing to try. Dragging along toddlers and babies through desserts is so wrong.

Awww, that picture of the toy elephant is so cute. Thanks NYTimes, that’s reason enough for not deporting people.

Mr. Barreras entered the country illegally, was arrested for assault, driving with an open container of alcohol and a year later arrested again for DUI. We do not need people like this in our country. The writer deems illegals accused of sexual abuse against children as “minor” offenses. No sexual abuse is minor. An illegal barely literate at 17? No thank you. Not needed in this country. They should all be deported together as a family.

The rhetoric has slipped from "who've done nothing illegal," to "who've done nothing illegal beside their immigration offense" to "who've done nothing illegal except their immigration offense and some misdemeanors long enough ago so that they really shoulnd't count." Can we stop this slippage somewhere short of "and they killed someone last week, but it was sort of accidental"?

Deport the illegal alien parents and the children that they dragged into their ill-considered scheme to trespass into our country, flout our laws, and steal services intended for American citizens and those lawfully present in our country. The parents will learn nothing from being deported -- especially when illegal alien advocates tell them that THEY are the victims -- but their children will learn a valuable life lesson: cheaters never prosper.

The most important person in this story is the three year old. Any arguments that do not acknowledge the devastating impact to her miss the point.

Mr. Barrera is in detention “due to DUI convictions. In addition, he had a conviction for illegal entry and multiple incidents of illegal entry.” He does not sound like a safe bet. Marta is most likely better off in detention. Only a liberal elitist who would not entrust their own child to someone with this aforementioned history would say it was okay for Marta. I am glad to see the judges have more common sense.

“The government has “a legitimate interest in continuing detention of individuals who posed a flight risk or danger to the community or others in a family detention facility because of that person’s criminal history,” Justice Department lawyers said” The family detention centers have a monetary interest in continuing detention of individuals. As always follow the money.

DUI is not a "minor offense". The families of the hundreds of American citizens killed in the past 20 years by illegal aliens driving drunk will confirm that. Beyond that, why in the world should the U.S. government be forced to play this kind of game with a man who is a serial immigration violator as well as a convicted criminal and is now obviously attempting to manipulate our asylum process to achieve his desired result. People like him, and the special interest advocacy groups that faciltate and normalize his behavior, have thoroughly undermined public confidence in an asylum process that offers critical protections to genuine refugees.

Many people have lost fingers working on farm equipment or harvesting crops with sharp knives. The man in this story, Mr. Barrera, was a barely literate 17 year old when he illegally crossed into the U.S. and found work harvesting leafy greens. After being deported, he likely continued to do farm work as his poor education wouldn’t have qualified him to do much else. It is possible that he lost his finger working on farm equipment, harvesting crops with a machete, or doing odd jobs. Mr. Barrera claims his finger was cut off with scissors when his family could not pay a ransom. Why would a drug cartel have thought his family had money to pay a ransom? Can a finger be cut off with scissors? Wouldn’t kidnappers have a more efficient tool to cut fingers? How did Mr. Barrera gain his freedom? If he was running for his life, why did he take his 3 year old daughter instead of leaving her with her mother and siblings? Didn’t he care about her safety? And, why would he have wanted to be bogged down by having to care for a 3 year old along the way? Perhaps he lost a finger in an accident, but concocted the story about a kidnapping in order to get asylum here. Knowing that he would be released into the country if he had a child with him, to await his asylum hearing, he brought his daughter along.

No sympathy for people who sneak into the country illegally and then demand a lawyer to help them stay. Children are brought along on the arduous journey because the parent thinks they will have a better argument to stay if they are accompanied by children. There is a line of people outside the embassies in Central American countries who are applying for legal immigration status. Let's let our Consular Officers decide who should be allowed to immigrate to the US.

No offense, but this man cannot even adequately provide for himself nonetheless a small child.

This is completely illegal. They separated the children in violation of international law and perhaps the US Constitution, the background of the parents is none of their business and they are under a court order to reunite the kids with their parents regardless. Rather than playing god, that whole cabal responsible for this crime against humanity and their failure to rectify it should be charged with contempt of court and the reunification put on absolute highest priority.

Oh my dear god. To all the people going on about whether people cross the border legally, illegally - Whatever. You are missing the point. You do not torment and terrify 3 year old children. Or any children. Have you ever seen a child who is terrified? Who has been separated from his parents? Do YOU have children? How can you justify doing this to a child - black, brown, white, legal, illegal - Whatever? And I won’t even mention the fact that in this particular article the father was kidnapped and ransomed by a gang - but he doesn’t have a right to flee to try to save his life? Because he’s so much different from your ancestors, right? This will truly go down as a crime against humanity.

#45 and his minions continue to lower the bar on common human decency.

If you've a DUI, Canada won't even let you into their country. We have the right to refuse those who break our laws. Deport them. ALL of them, together as a family. No mas.

The fact that the government has the right to enforce laws doesn't give them the right to do it in a way that would be illegal if applied to US citizens. Be careful what you wish for; if you let them get away with it you may be next. That's how dictatorships evolve.

Can we focus for a minute on the individuals affected? This administration is acting in a way that experts explain will have grave consequences in the future for the mental health of these children. That is not ok. Using children to deter immigration is acting in a way contrary to all the reasons why so many people want to come here. If our zeal to keep our borders secure requires our country to become a brutal, lawless and heartless, then just what are we protecting? I prefer Emma Lazarus' words at the base of the Statue of Liberty to embody my sense of what our country should be.

Out of curiosity, where are his other two children and their mother? He’d been in jail here, deported and didn’t realize that the U.S. might not welcome him? How did he plan on supporting his family picking lettuce or whatever skill set he has? Did he expect showing up with a young child would be his ticket in if caught? If so, why?

While in Mexico the father "met a woman and had three children" of whom Marta is one. Where are this child's mother and siblings? Why, if she cannot be reunited with her father, is no one seeking to return her to her mother? Why did the father choose to bring this child with him when he crossed the border and not the other two? There are some unanswered questions here.

Minors who come to the U.S., from further away than Canada or Mexico, are formally entered into the asylum process to make sure they were not brought here to be trafficked as sex workers. This article focuses on a Salvadoran man who met a woman in Mexico and had children with her. Mexico has birthright citizenship. If the Savadoran’s child, Marta, was born in Mexico she is a Mexican citizen regardless of her parents’ nationality. Therefore, the anti-trafficking law does not apply to her. Marta could be handed over to a social worker from a Mexican child welfare agency who would determine if it would be safe to return Marta to her mom.

"Had he known that they would be separated, he said, he would not have made the journey to the United States." Immigrant advocate organizations are 100% responsible for family separations. They entice people to break the law and then fight, tooth and nail, to make it impossible to deport. There is no situation, and no type of criminal conduct, that would dissuade the immigration advocates to not defend an illegal immigrant. Immigration advocates will never stop. There will never be enough people for them. They believe this nations, and its citizens, exist solely to provide for the welfare of foreigners. They, the lawyers and spokespeople, make a lot of money doing this- and they cost us (society) tons of money.

Last time I checked, applying for asylum after turning yourself in to border patrol is a legal activity. Why is Trump so determined to criminalize people who lawfully seek asylum? Why are funds being taken from FEMA and handed over to Homeland Security/ICE to cage migrant adults and children? I don't want my tax dollars being used to commit human rights abuses. No wonder why Trump and Nikki Haley dropped out of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Now they are free to trample all over brown people from south of the border.

An alleged and unsubstantiated minor offense from long ago may now hold up Bret Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. Double standard here?

" ... he moved to Mexico, where he did odd jobs for several years. He met a woman and had three children, including Marta, said his attorney. Where are Marta’s mother and siblings? Perhaps Marta could be reunited with them.

This is from the same governing party that is offended that decades old complaints against Brett Kavanaugh are being brought up.

If you're an immigrant, long ago minor offenses can upend your family. If you're a Republican running for the Senate or nominated for the Supreme Court with a history of sexual assault, no biggie.

But a possible, "minor" offense by a candidate for the Supreme Court shouldn't keep him separated from his confirmation . . . ? What have we become?

Forgot to add that crossing the border illegally is a crime in itself. That is enough in my book (and the law) to result in deportation. Why do we tolerate ANY crime, however small, committed by someone who is not here legally in the first place? Can The Times understand how all this feels to those of us who have lived our entire lives following the law to the book?

The father said "Had he known that they would be separated, he said, he would not have made the journey to the United States." This is exactly the message that the Trump administration wanted to send to would be immigrants.

Regardless of criminal record -- even if the criminal record is completely clean -- every person here without legal authorization is "removable" -- deportable -- from the USA, and -- pending removal/deportation -- is detainable in custody. Every release out of custody into the USA -- regardless of criminal record -- is -- and ought to be -- at the discretion of US law. The USA does not need more people -- least of all self-selected people. The laws of the USA determine who is selected for authorization to come here. Those who want to come here do not have any right to select themselves to com here. A clean criminal record alone is not sufficient. The world has seven billion people outside the USA -- doubtless well over 90% with clean criminal records -- and more than one-third of them are "children". The USA does not need them. The USA already has 330 million people who are citizens or legally authorized to be here. That's plenty. The USA has the absolute right to keep out those who have no legal authorization to be here, and to put them out when they come here without authorization, and to determine who among them are authorized to come and stay.

Surely it's well past time that the judge starts jailing someone. I'd suggest starting at the top of whatever chain is responsible for this shameful extension of separating children from their parents.