Children belong with their parents.
And the parents of these children belong outside the USA.
9
They can stay together whenever they want
-- outside the USA.
They have no right to stay together inside the USA
unless and until they -- i.e. every member of the family --
each has his/her own authorization to be here.
And if they are making a claim for "asylum",
they can be -- and ought to be -- detained -- 24/7 --
unless and until their supposed claim is granted.
Even if one member of the family has authorization,
that is not automatically a ticket for the others.
If they have so-called "mixed status",
then the sensible thing to do is to stay outside the USA
unless and until they each have own authorization to enter.
If they come here with "mixed status",
they should not be surprised to be separated.
That's the way the rest of the world works.
6
The continuing tragedy of Trump's family separation is that it's virtually certain some of these children will never see their parents--or other family members--ever again.
Unforgivable.
5
When will somebody stop the criminals in the WH?
7
Great nations do not commit crimes against humanity. That’s what lawless nations do. This is what we have become. Again!
11
I want to know where these children go while in detention. Who takes care of them? Abuses and potential dangers abound. Epsteins-in-training lurk.
7
This is the epitome of our dysfunctional government. These are children! Almost a thousand without their families, living in prison like situations. Another reason to hate Trump and to make sure he loses in 2020. What have we let our country become? Call your Congressperson and Senator!
8
Wow! The only thing that is simple is children should not be separated from their families, criminal or not. If the parents are not to be trusted, they and their children need to be in a facility that can insure the children's safety.
This applies to citizens and non-citizens.
As far as "illegal" goes...our government is the illegal party here. By law, we're required to take bonafide asylum seekers.
If we totally opened up our borders, it might give us incentive to stop exploiting other countries and their people--which is largely why these asylum seekers are here.
7
Based on comments, it appears that readers would rather do anything than admit the Dems support child trafficking and neglect. Less than 0.001% have been separated, and that's with cause, according to this article.
Which is it folks? Keep families together, take their information RE asylum, give them a court date, and return them across the border OR keep families together in detention facilities that are overwhelmed due to lack of funding and support from Congress?
6
'Recycling' How many of these separations are children not actually with 'family' but being kidnapped and trafficked by transnational criminal organizations to get favorable entry for the migrants who pay them thousands of dollars to get them over the border?
Some kids are 'recycled' more than once. That's what's cruel and sick and the current system encourages these awful practices.
6
Remove the children from Americans that HIRE illegals. They are breaking the law. Freeze their assets and deny them bail.
11
@AM Murphy:
I agree. As a police officer working with INS, I’ve been on those raids you desire. That would be the big box stores, slaughterhouses, chicken packers and corporate farmers; which is the very reason these corporations refuse to adopt an immigration law that requires them to use E-Verify.
5
No need for separations. Anyone crossing into our country illegally should be identified, fingerprinted, then deported immediately. It’s not that complicated.
21
Re-unite these families back home where they belong! DEPORT THEM ALL! NO EXCEPTIONS!
What kind of a country are we that won’t take care of its own? Trump is right on this.
18
The unconscionable acts of taking children from their families and then, after kidnapping them, failing to provide adequate care is devastating to any American with a conscience. The damage done to these children and their families can never be repaired. Anyone who is not ashamed needs to take a good, long look in the mirror and question their humanity.
There is also an unfixable cost to the country. Like Germany, America will be forever after defined by its cruelty and inhumanity. The American myth is over. America has relinquished its role as a leader in the world and Russia and China have gleefully stepped into the vacuum. It’s a matter of time before the U.N. makes the symbolic move to another shore.
We are no longer a top tier country, but a country defined by evil. That is what a Trump defined Republican Party has brought us.
12
@Chickpea You obviously don't understand what law means!
3
@Chickpea
yes is truly a blot on America's reputation and its karma.
2
The most important number is not how many families were separated. The most important number is how many families have been reunited and the percentage and how many are unknown / unidentifiable. Therefore, LOST.
And, is there a well-designed and up-to-date system for verifying the separations and reunification details?
8
It seems like drunken driving and drug possession are reasonable excuses for separating parents from their children.
What are we importing?
17
@Daphne I would say the same standard should be applied as we do to our citizenry. If one spouse gets a DUI or possession charge do you believe the children should be separated from both their parents for months at a time? That seems harsh. "What we importing"? You make it sound like these people are objects, not human beings. A little compassion goes a long way.
13
@Daphne Are children taken away from parents who get a DUI? Wow, I didn't realize that....not.
7
@jeffk They have abused our compassion . Since when they are the victims. We are the victims not them!
2
How sad to note that Kevin McAleenan is either incredibly ignorant, or has "drunk the Koolaid." No one who has/loves/cares about childen can call 900 children, separated from their families and/or still held in cages, a "rare" occurrence. The Trump administration has successfully elevated lying to an art form (and a national value?), and Mr. McAleenan, promoting this lie, is its newest champion.
20
@Metrowest Mom Well, 900 is less than 0.001% of those arriving over the same time frame. I call that rare.
3
A full 24 hours after publishing this piece, only 22 comments. The only NYT Pick was one in favor of what's being done.
Burn-out? Crisis fatigue? Numb from oversaturated coverage for too long? We seem to have moved on to the next media saturation, which is arguing over who's going to ruin the Democrats' chances in 2020 - the Boomers or the Millennials. Sorry, migrants.
22
It’s because we can’t bear it. It’s too heartbreaking
3
@Jrb
All of the above. It's overwhelming everyone and with no effective solutions in sight.
2
@Jrb I think timing is part of it. I don't recall seeing this article yesterday, but maybe it was eclipsed by other articles about Coats, the Dem debates, etc. Having said that, I do feel burned out by all the negative news out there. I don't think the mainstream media is overdoing it much - they are reporting what this administration is doing, which is mind-numbing!
4
By mistreating innocent children, this administration has lost the moral authority to govern this country.
They should be sued in every court possible, including international courts; until we can put a stop to this. This is blot on the reputation of this great country.
Where are all our lawyers? Can we get a s kick-starter campaign to fund this ?
14
@j Thankfully the ACLU has it in hand. They are funded by Americans who believe in the Constitution and rule of law and every donation of any amount is well spent.
6
@Ellen M Mc
Thanks Ellen,
Yes we should support the good work of ACLU.
you can tweet your support for Lee Gelernt
https://twitter.com/leegelernt?lang=en.
But my fear is they are not enough to stop this lawless administration; who even defies the federal judge who banned this policy last summer, by using lame excuses.
I think we need more lawsuits? anyone ?
1
Two questions:
1. Have they figured out a way to associate the separated children with the people from whose arms they were taken?
2. When did kidnapping become legal?
15
People who support Trump's family separation policy, who I presume are Republicans, say we should help American families first. But that party does not help the poor, they help the rich. They cut food stamps and Medicaid and school budgets to afford lowering the corporate tax rate to zero. Republicans refuse to even raise the minimum wage which is half in real terms what it used to be. So please don't pretend to be a friend of the American poor or say they should come first. Kicking the poor in the ditch, whether American or immigrant, is the Republican way.
23
@Sherry Do not assume that those supporting Trump immigration policies are Reps. Most citizens are fed up with border abuse, illegal immigrants, and that includes Dems, independents, moderates, Reps, and most thinking people.
3
Separating children from parents is one thing — a thing that should not be done unless the parent is a danger to the child or to public safety. What should not be done PERIOD is putting children in cages, facilities that are not designed or equipped to provide each child with a bed, a space to play, things to play with, and educational opportunities. The confiscation of these children is being done on the cheap, for profit, and that is unconscionable. They are innocent and vulnerable and they are being imprisoned as if they are the wrongdoers, not their parents. Shameful.
42
@Citizen-of-the-World--It's kidnapping. Our government is committing crime after crime. After all this is over, those who participated should be prosecuted and punished.
13
@Citizen-of-the-World
The United States government is separating parents from children for parking violations and for other insignificant reasons.
Fascism!!!!!
11
@Citizen-of-the-World
"....facilities that are not designed or equipped to provide each child with a bed, a space to play, things to play with, and educational opportunities"
FYI:
"A staggering 2.5 million children are now homeless each year in America. This historic high represents one in every 30 children in the United States."
https://www.air.org/center/national-center-family-homelessness
Why do you put the needs of children from another country before the needs of American children?
3
Actually we should stop allowing children over the border, period. How are we assessing the custody agreements of these children? Do all these men have consent of the mothers to bring the children through the desert and life threatening conditions to get here? No matter how awful, there are very few mothers who would willingly give up custody much less let an infant do that trip without them. Domestic violence and machismo is also much more prevalent in these cultures so is taking the baby or young child genuinely the mothers wishes? How frequently is the mother actually being pressured by family to let a child travel with an uncle across the desert?
28
@Allright, these are the questions the ACLU wants answered. You, I, NOBODY gets to determine that a mother is too grumpy, or a father too macho-looking to be a real dad.
"...the A.C.L.U. asked the judge to clarify a set of standards for such separations that would ensure that children are taken from their parents only when there is evidence that the parent is a genuine danger to the child, or is unfit to provide care."
Just not let any children over the border? How insane is this getting?
5
@Allright when the mother is already here the dynamics of your question flips dramatically..
6
@Allright: 35% of kids at the border are not with a parent or legal guardian. Some are kidnapped -- to be used as "free passes" into the US -- but many are being sex trafficked.
I read here in the NYT a few months back, an awful case where a GRANDMOTHER kidnapped her granddaughter, age 2, to get into the US. She believed having a cute tiny child would get her in. She took the child from her daughter in law, who was living with her OWN mother (the child's maternal grandmother) without any permission. The family was devastated. This is typical of what is going on.
Pressure is involved here, plus kidnappings, plus money and bribes being paid.
15
No more separations, or detentions or catch and release. Send them back as family units. No exceptions. Our laws are being gamed and over whelmed by "asylum" seekers and are hopelessly out of date. The only way to slow this tidal wave down is to send people back and get the word out that they're wasting their time coming north. We cannot be the population pressure relief valve for the worlds unhappy millions. We have our own millions here to take care of.
36
@Al, that's excellent repetition of FOX lies, but I don't have the patience to explain it to you; you folks are not reasonable.
You live in Idaho, Al. There's another NYT article that talks about the Paradise, CA devastation from wildfires last fall. Here's a question: Let's say that this year, some idiot torches California again, and the destruction is 100 times worse. Let's say those people try to get into Idaho to start new lives. Let's say most of them are Hispanic, and let's say 95% of these people lost all their documents in the fire as they fled. I know it's a stretch for you, but would you send all of them back to the ashes, because you think they're gaming the system, trying to get all the milk and honey Idaho has to offer, without contributing?
If not, then explain why you'd do it to other desperate people, who can PROVE that gangs, drought, corruption and lawlessness made them refugees too?
13
@deb. I tried explaining Deb but not optimistic.
@Mary Anne Fox. While your contemplating how to deal with us uninformed back country rubes, I have a few questions. How many can we take in? 100,000/ month? 10 million a year? The supply is as limitless as are the billions on the planet. Who gets in and who doesn't or are there no restrictions? How do you tell the Californians that got burned out that our resources have to go Guatemalans instead of them? Also, one can only assume that you are staunch democratic believers in climate change and are environmentalists. Explain how adding millions to the country that has the highest per capita co2 emissions on earth helps fix climate change? We are 5% of the worlds population using 25% of its resources. Adding to our population from immigration, births or even white people from Norway is the worst thing you can do for the planet. Or maybe you don't believe in climate change after all? You cannot be for mass immigration and be an environmentalist. They are mutually exclusive. Make your answers simple. I'm only an engineer and an MD.
3
Commenters who protest that it's what we do to our own kids, or who say our sympathy should be with our own kids first need to check their ethics score. This is kidnapping, no matter where the children originate, or the behavior of their parents.
It is exacerbated by the fact that the Border Patrol loses track of these kids and then can't return them to their parents. If government neglect or abuse of American children gets your dander up, DO SOMETHING. But give up the idea that it's not okay to do it to some kids, but fine to do it to others. Talk about racism...
19
War Crimes are War Crimes. Kidnapping is Kidnapping. Trump cares nothing about people. Life? Liberty? The pursuit of happiness?
"I (we) pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America..."
Have every member of Congress take that pledge, one by one, on national television and this problem will vanish in several hours.
10
@FritzTOF
Amen, Fritz, this must be stopped. We the (well meaning) people; have to come up with a plan to hold this administration accountable for this.
4
I lived in Tucson Arizona from 1982 until 1998. Friends, and their families have left such a loving essence in my life that I consider Tucson as my hometown. While running errands early this morning the local community radio station was playing a Los Lobos song. It reminded me of their self titled album and the track, " Matter of Time". I played it when I got back in my house and while listening, I couldn't stop crying. It represents what once was an immigrant's dream. Please take 4 minutes and listen!
https://youtu.be/vdfuPQnQNm8
6
Whenever children accompany someone accused of a crime who enters the US illegally, they should be kept with their parents while awaiting resettlement to a sanctuary city like Los Angeles. Good Democrats agree that there’s no reason to send criminals back to the country they came from.
6
@Richard Winchester most would say those who are convicted of serious crimes, violent felonies, etc. should be deported. But not for minor traffic violations. I do agree with your point to keep families together before resettling them.
1
@Richard Winchester. Sanctuary cities would welcome them.
If we applied the same standards to citizens, half of the children in the US would be in foster care.
Half of the nonwhite children that is.
14
@Kibi Tsk, tsk. Are you implying the Trump/Miller immigration policy is racist?
I would have never thought I would see the day when a president of this country would practice racism, and encourage it among our employees.
3
Foster children in this country are being abused and neglected every day by State and Local government officials and employees. Tens of thousands of them are left with alcohol and drug addicted mothers, abused by them, then sent back to them over and over again. Why oh why can’t the stories of these children, citizens all, get the press that the relatively few non-citizens do? The crisis at the border explains in part why these children are separated. But what explains the nightmare that is being visited upon our own American foster children day after day? And why doesn’t the media seem to care?
26
@ehillesum I tried to explain in a post that the current system is set up that immigrant parents can be determined abusive and neglectful for the act of showing up here. Their kids are separated using the same mandated reporting authority as for US kids. A family law lawyer friend told me once "They don't just give you your kids back - they TRY to keep them". If that can happen to American citizens what chance do immigrant parents have? Their children are virtually lost to them.
There are literally millions of Americans who have been separated from their children by the criminal justice system. It's called jail. Yes, shocking I know, but if you violate the law you are going to be separated from your family. Gee, I wish there were some way to avoid family separations. Oh, wait, I know -- don't illegally sneak into another nation!
26
@UncertaintyPrincipal Perhaps if you look further into the issue rather than defend a practice that is harmful to the children, aside from the racism.
Do some meaningful exploration as to what the officials do in this country when a parent or guardian is separated from their children.
We sure as hell don't lock those children up in a chain link cage or in a tent city.
But, I do not expect any semblance of humanity or caring from anyone who supports Trump.
17
@UncertaintyPrincipal
People seeking asylum are not criminals!
10
@UncertaintyPrincipal you make a very good argument for developing alternatives to jail.
They are coming to the US to plead their case for asylum. What kind of administration takes children away from their parents? Treat children the way you would want your own to be treated. Welcome strangers, Jesus said. Evil walks our border, and Republicans, who claim to be good Christians, worship it.
12
@Sherry When refereing to Republican and Christians, in the same sentence, I typically use italics and lower case Christian as if they purport to follow their savior's teachings, they missed most of those teachings, therefore, cannot be considered Christian.
9
@Dan. Barabus! Release Barabus! (or so the comments would have gone as the Romans hoisted that cross at Golgotha.). Gotta love "the common sentiment"
Given that there are budget constraints, spend my taxpayer dollars taking care of our children, homeless, and disadvantaged.
25
@Kent Kraus I offer this in addition-no more three-plus million dollars per trip golfing, no more walls that will do little, no more squandering our money on pet projects in Congress and quit paying for all-expenses paid vacations for Prince Jared and Co-President Ivanka.
14
The inconvenient truth is that if you as a parent is in this country illegally, you can make the choice to avoid family separation by going back to Mexico, no matter what country you came from. So don't blame the US for the consequences of your choice.
34
@Qcell You, among others, have missed the part about applying for asylum. That is not illegal entry.
Keep up.
15
@Concerned Citizen 95% is a serious statistic. Can you point us to your source?
Most Americans welcome LEGAL immigrants, but do not want ILLEGAL immigrants. They recognize that the US cannot afford (or choose not) to support our own citizens: the poor, the ill, elderly, disabled, veterans, et al., and that they and other US taxpayers cannot possibly support the hundreds of millions of foreigners who would like to come here.
US laws allow foreigners to seek entry and citizenship. Those who do not follow these laws are in this country illegally and should be detained and deported; this is policy in other countries, too.
The cruelty lies not in limiting legal immigration, or detaining and deporting illegal immigrants, or forcing those who wish to enter the US to wait for processing. What is cruel, unethical and probably illegal is encouraging parents to bring their children on the dangerous trek to US borders and teaching the parents how to game the system to enter the US by falsely claiming asylum, persecution, etc. Indeed, many believe bringing children on such perilous journeys constitutes child abuse.
No other nation has open borders, nor should the US.
31
@Mon Ray. lol hundreds of millions. Where do you live, New Hampshire?
1
Toss them back over the border and let Mexico sort them out. Stop allowing kids over the border. Stop allowing illegal immigrants to pass through multiple safe countries to try and claim "asylum", etc.
31
When our citizens are arrested they are separated from their children. Children are frequently placed in foster care or orphanages. Families are hurt and even destroyed by it criminal justice system. I wish liberals would spend their time crying for our own before going to the mat for noncitizens. It's disgraceful.
23
What makes you think liberals don’t care about the abuses of our for profit prison system? Do you think conservatives care?
5
@MJG. What they justify doing to those kids they can do to your kids too. If you are OK with the police and a social worker showing up at your door and taking your kids if you get a DUI then you are right we shouldn't be crying for immigrants - then everyone gets what they deserve. The "disgraceful" comment about going to the mat for non-citizens sounds like you've internalized the Trump tweet wrap-up. You just forgot the hashtag.
1
@MJG can you cite the stats for US citizens whose children are separated from them due to minor traffic violations? How about DUIs? The vast majority of the separations you refer to are from parents who committed serious crimes and oftentimes the other spouse still maintains custody. Please share the stats you are basing your comment on. Can you provide more than just the Fox News soundbite?
1
So when are the Courts going to uphold the law and start arresting the officials and Administration flunkies that are defying the law? And when are we going to impeach this lawless President for the crimes he has committed and continues to do? I thought that in our country no one is above the law. We’d better start enforcing our laws and court orders because we are rapidly becoming a lawless nation.
13
The sooner the GOP and Democrats work on a bi-partisan resolution on immigration (I won’t hold my breath); the sooner this madness will end. Until then, it will be business as usual with Trump which is what he wants.
8
@A.A.F.
Why should there be a future bi-partisan resolution? We tried that already remember? There was huge bi-partisan amnesty bill passed and signed by a republican president in the 80's. The GOP was then rewarded with a flood of illegal immigrants and having democrats refuse to follow the enforcement provisions in the legislation and then further rewarded by being called racists for a generation for their compassion. Never again.
4
The Trump Government has clearly demonstrated, that they have no intention of following The Rule of Law.
They will not obey Legal Subpoenas.
They will not obey Legal Court Rulings.
They are a Criminal Enterprise, that will not obey The Rule of Law.
The only place for Criminals, is in jail.
Indictment.
Trial.
Conviction.
Incarceration.
Let's stop wasting time.
Florence Colorado, is waiting.
29
@John Doe Have not these rules, laws, been in force since Clinton, around 1996. If they are not working congress needs to change them. Not enforcing current laws, as Obama did I believe, should not be a choice either.
9
@Bob Obama deported many more than Dear Leader. So, what part of that "not enforcing current laws" does that fall under?
2
Obama simply changed the definition of who was "deported". People turned around at the border were now added to the deported list. It was an accounting trick. Once you got into the country away from the border during his admin, you had virtually no chance of being deported. Totally dishonest.
4
Guilty until proven innocent. President Trump doesn't like it so he hollers 'witch hunt!'. But it's he looks the other way if your an undocumented parent.
10
Never happen if the families were white.
50
People from predominantly white countries are generally not fleeing poverty and violence, so they tend to follow the rules.
9
The greatest number of illegals are Hispanics. That's why they keep showing up in the pictures. It's also why they have been the largest minority in the country for 15 years surpassing blacks. We don't have a border with African countries. It's not racist, it's the facts. But if it makes you feel better, all the white people sneaking into the country with their kids looking to take advantage of our generous social welfare benefits and often ignored laws should be treated the exact same way. Feel better? I didn't think so.
15
@Max Proof, or, just pulling something out of a hat?
In past years most of the illegals in this country arrived by air or sea or over the northern border and overstayed visas.
So, what part of following rules allows overstaying of a visa?
6
So if the standards for separation are clarified, the administration will find another way around or just stop for a bit and start up again thinking no one will notice.
At what point is the Judge going to enact consequences?
53
Shame on all of us, that do nothing to stop this inhumane & divisive actions that are going on!!
Listen to those "Trump" Acting Directors testifying & parsing their words. Few if any telling you what is the underlying actions.
Do not be fooled! Call your congress members!
We are better than this!
41
Sorry, people, but in America, if you get arrested for a DWI and your child is in the car, your child will be taken away from you. Simple, reasonable US law.
25
Try reading the article.
"The new motion before the court did not lay out the full details of all 911 separation cases, in part because the government provided only minimal details of criminal history for each case, the filing said. For many parents, the spreadsheet provided by the [in']Justice Department did not state the nature of the criminal history at all."
Combine that with thug-cops' intense lust for arresting people for "disorderly conduct", no reason at all, or even anti-reasons like protesting lethal-energy pipelines that'll kill us all (the thugs included), and the reality is that in America, if the cops feel like it, your child will be taken away from you—and neither we nor you may ever know why. Simple, reasonable US law—for sufficiently small values of "simple", "reasonable", and "law".
Combine THAT with how the loser and his regime ALREADY lied about stopping the kid-caging, and you can bet a LOT more than "911" children have been kidnapped since then, let alone remain stolen.
They will grow traumatized, resentful, and criminally inclined—not despite, but BECAUSE of their racist push to "fight" "crime".
27
@Mike P. That is so far from true that I have to wonder if you live in the U. S. In some states, you may lose your license; in others, not even that for a first offense- or a second! I know quite a few alcoholics with repeated driving offenses- no one ever took their children away.
37
@Mike P That is not true. Children are not removed from families if a parent is arrested for DWI. And when children are removed from their parents, they are placed in foster care nearby, not thousands of miles away. Arrangements are made for visitation, and the goal of removal is always first and foremost to reunite the family. There seems to be little effort to reunite these families - in many cases, the parents have been deported back to Central America without their children, when their only crime was wanting a better life for their families.
19