Tag: family separations

A Mike Pence staffer had a horrifying answer when asked if she was a white nationalist

AlterNet logoMSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff revealed a conversation he had with an aide to Vice President Mike Pence in his new book “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy” that gives a disturbing glimpse of the kinds of people working in the Trump administration.

Soboroff has been one of the most dogged reporters pursuing the story of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, and his new book centers on the administration’s horrific decision to systematically separate thousands of migrant kids from their families as they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. This policy caused widespread chaos, trauma, and harm that continues to this day.

At one point in the book, as revealed on “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday night, Soboroff confronted Pence staffer Katie Miller, who had been a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security during the crisis.

“My family and colleagues told me that when I have kids, I will think about the separations differently,” Katie Miller, who later married Trump’s infamously anti-immigrant staffer Stephen Miller, told Soboroff. “I don’t think so. DHS sent me to the border to see the separations myself to try to make me more compassionate, but it didn’t work.” Continue reading.

In 1 Week, the Trump Administration Restricts Green Card Holders, Fails to Reunite Families, & Treats Immigrants as Criminals

In one week, the Trump administration has failed to reunite families, treated immigrants as criminals, and most recently, announced new restrictions on green card holders for those on public aid. DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement:

“From separating families at the border to ending protections for Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status recipients, Donald Trump has taken every opportunity to attack and tear apart immigrant families. Now he’s targeting lower-income residents by making it harder for them to care for their children and contribute to their communities. The cruelty of this administration knows no bounds. Democrats believe diversity is our nation’s greatest strength, and we will continue to fight for dignity and opportunity for immigrant families.”

Here’s more of the latest from Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda over the past week alone:

More than 180 children remain separated from their parents, many of whom have already been deported.

MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff: “BREAKING: New data from Trump administration on families it separated at border. ➡️ 182 kids *still* separated from parents. ➡️ 6 kids are under 5. ➡️ Parents of 141 already deported. ➡️ @ACLU says ‘communication breakdowns’ happening for some remaining reunifications.” Continue reading “In 1 Week, the Trump Administration Restricts Green Card Holders, Fails to Reunite Families, & Treats Immigrants as Criminals”

1 month after court-mandated deadline, 528 immigrant families are still separated

The following article by Amanda Michelle Gomez was posted on the ThinkProgress.org website August 24, 2018:

And 23 kids under age 5 are apart from their parents.

The administration has reunited the majority of families they’ve separated, but still over 500 parents and their children remain apart, including 23 infants or toddlers, according the most recent government figures.

Credit: Diana Ofosu
CREDIT: DIANA OFOSU

Continue reading “1 month after court-mandated deadline, 528 immigrant families are still separated”

Judge halts mother-daughter deportation, threatens to hold Sessions in contempt

The following article by Arelis R. Hernándz was posted on the Washington Post website August 9, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions restated his zero tolerance policy for illegal entry from the border with Mexico on June 11. Credit: Reuters

A federal judge in Washington halted a deportation in progress Thursday and threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt after learning that the Trump administration started to remove a woman and her daughter while a court hearing appealing their deportations was underway.

“This is pretty outrageous,” U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said after being told about the removal. “That someone seeking justice in U.S. court is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her?”

“I’m not happy about this at all,” the judge continued. “This is not acceptable.”

View the complete article here.

The ACLU is suing Jeff Sessions over the Trump administration’s asylum policies

The following article by Brianna Provenzano was posted on the Mic.com website August 8, 2018:

The American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Gender and Refugee Studies filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., contesting the Trump administration’s evisceration of protections for asylum seekers.

The lawsuit, Grace v. Sessions, specifically calls into question policies enacted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in June that seek to ramp up deportations and expedite removal proceedings for immigrants.

Under the new rules, asylum officers are encouraged to categorize petitions citing credible “fears of domestic abuse or gang violence” as “personal circumstances,” which do not automatically constitute eligibility for asylum.

View the complete article here.

Trump administration says it isn’t responsible for reuniting deported parents and children

The following article by Rebekah Entralgo was posted on the ThinkProgress website August 3, 2018:

The ACLU calls the administration’s refusal to reunite deported parents and children “remarkable.”

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Credit: Kevin Hagen, Getty Images

The Trump administration continues to wash their hands of any responsibility of solving a crisis of their own creation.

On Thursday night, the Department of Justice (DOJ) informed a federal judge that the government is not responsible for finding the over 400 parents separated from their children at the border who were deported and are no longer in the United States.

Instead, the government believes it is the responsibility of the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU), the organization suing the federal government, to reunify deported parents with their children.

View the complete article here.

THE LATEST: Hundreds Of Families Remain Separated, Trump Goes After

Hundreds of children remain separated from their parents as a result of Trump’s cruel policy. Instead of doing more to reunite these families, the Trump administration wants to continue to push their anti-immigrant agenda. Now, he’s going after legal immigrants. Here’s the latest:

Hundreds of children remain separated from their families, many of whose parents have already been deported.

MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff: “Lots of other stuff going on today. Figured I’d remind everyone the Trump administration separated 2,551 migrant kids from their parents at the border. 572 of them are *still* separated. 410 have parents who were already deported. The government simply can’t find them.” Continue reading “THE LATEST: Hundreds Of Families Remain Separated, Trump Goes After”