Trump’s “zero tolerance policy”

It is well known that one of the pillars of the political identity and campaign of Donald Trump, current president of the US, has always been immigration.

During the past three and a half years, President Trump and his cabinet have focused heavily on reducing immigration, both legal and illegal, implementing strict policies that sparked controversy and dissent among the American population, activists and immigrant communities.

For instance, one of the most controversial issues today is the separation of immigrant families at the borders of the US, which has increased substantially since the Trump administration, in an effort to reduce immigration and prove that its methods work, implemented the so-called “zero tolerance policy”.

Broadly speaking, this policy states that immigrants who cross borders without legal documentation are committing a crime and must face legal charges. However, under the US law, minors cannot be detained by border forces and must be transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Hence, this policy dramatically increased the separation of immigrant families.

Pilot program increased family separation at borders

Before the Trump administration officially implemented the “zero tolerance policy,” it conducted a pilot program in 2017, without public notice, that led to the separation of 1,030 immigrant minors.

However, border forces and federal entities in charge of this program did not register information of immigrant minors or their parents. Thus, databases are outdated and in some cases there is no trace of their personal information.

In fact, in one of our most recent articles, we talk about 545 minors who were separated from their families during this pilot program and have not been able to locate their relatives. Adding to that, possibly, hundreds of immigrant adults involved in this maneuver have already been deported and entities in charge of the case have not been able to find their whereabouts.

Number of minors who cannot find their relatives increases

According to a recent NBC News report, lawyers and organizations in charge of reuniting separated families at the borders stated that the number of minors who cannot find their relatives is 666, instead of 545.

Adding to that, they state that 129 minors were under 5 years old when they were separated under Trump’s “zero tolerance policy”, which represents 20% of minors.

Lawyers state that the government does not have information about the whereabouts of their relatives and many of them have already been deported from the US, which makes family reunification even more difficult.

Protect your future and take expert advice

The aftermath of the Trump administration’s policies is quite prominent and its intention to curb illegal immigration has caused a large part of the American population to stop supporting his government.

As a result, local citizens chose Joe Biden as the nation’s next leader, who will most likely transform current immigration policies and embrace more immigrant-friendly paths.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.