Campaign Action
Monday, November 12, marks 109 days since a federal judge’s reunification deadline, yet migrant children kidnapped from the arms of parents at the southern border continue to remain separated from their families, according to the most recently available numbers from the Trump administration.
Of 47 children eligible for reunification, tweeted MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff, the parents of 33 have already been deported. But the administration still has a much larger number of children under custody, including a group of 118 kids according to the latest American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) status report, “with parents presently departed from the United States whose intent not to reunify has been confirmed by the ACLU.” Perhaps some parents felt their child deserved a chance here. Perhaps others were coerced into being deported, as reports have indicated.
In spite of getting electorally rebuked in battleground areas over his anti-immigrant fearmongering, Donald Trump’s attack on migrant kids continues as he also ramps up his attacks on an untold number of asylum seekers, by unveiling an asylum ban that tries to trump U.S. and international law and slam the door shut on the most vulnerable at the southern border. “President Trump’s proclamation suspending asylum rights is illegal,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a release, “so we’re suing.”
Last week’s Democratic sweep of the House could finally mean some accountability and probes into the ongoing family separation crisis, the administration quest to detain families indefinitely, and presidential attacks on asylum, but it could be months before any sort of ball gets rolling. With Trump’s daily disgraces squeezing out the ongoing crises he has caused, it’s up to us to keep speaking out about the children and vulnerable families who voters said, on Election Day, we must not forget.