Children kidnapped from the arms of parents at the southern border under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy have continued to remain in federal custody, advocates told a federal judge last week, despite their deported parents having already designated U.S. sponsors for them to be released to. Some of these children, CNN reports, have been waiting for months now to go to their new homes.
“In these cases, parents who'd been deported without their kids told officials they didn't want their children to be repatriated, instead designating sponsors to care for them in the United States. But a number of children remain in custody months later and haven't been released to sponsors, ACLU attorneys said.” Last month, reporter Jacob Soboroff said that as many as 99 kids of parents who’d already been deported and had “chosen not to reunite” were still in custody.
The administration’s excuse is yet another self-created crisis. A government attorney claimed that “the process of placing children with sponsors is lengthy by design to protect child welfare. Sponsors are required to fill out and submit paperwork and then must be vetted and approved.” We’re well aware of that—some potential sponsors have been arrested by immigration agents as a result of increased vetting, leading other potential sponsors to back out, leading to more children staying longer in custody. These kids should have been released to sponsors recommended by their parents yesterday.
Donald Trump’s “immigration policies are far-reaching, sometimes difficult to understand, and rooted in hate,” Human Rights First said last week. “But one thing seems to unite them all: a blatant, absolute disregard for the rights, safety, and well-being of children. The administration left children to languish behind bars, despite being briefed on the negative effects of incarceration on children. The American Academy of Pediatrics has repeatedly warned that detention results in psychological distress, PTSD, and suicidality.”
Children do not belong in detention—especially in a facility operated by a “non-profit” as shady as Southwest Key—yet the administration is openly floating officially reviving family separation even as it continues to violate the judge’s decision ordering officials to return kids separated from earlier this year. In addition to the 99 separated kids, another group of 25 kids are also waiting to be reunited with their parents. Today, Monday, December 3, marks 130 days since the judge’s deadline. Family separation remains a crisis.