Featured Issue: End Family Separation and Family Detention

In April 2018, the Trump administration implemented a "zero tolerance policy" resulting in the widespread separation of parents and children arriving together at the United States southern border between ports of entry. The "zero tolerance policy" mandates the prosecution for illegal entry of everyone apprehended between ports of entry, including asylum seekers. Under this directive, while parents in federal custody underwent prosecution, the administration took away their children without any clear requirement of eventual reunification. This de facto family separation policy has inflicted trauma on separated family members, restricted due process, and violated fundamental norms of family unity and decency. No law or court decision requires such separation.

On June 20, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) purporting to address the family separation crisis that it created, by expanding the use of family detention, while reaffirming his commitment to a "zero tolerance" policy of border prosecutions, even for those who lawfully claim a fear of persecution and are entitled to seek asylum in the United States. Subjecting children and their families to prolonged detention, however, is harmful, traumatic, and impedes due process.

Both family separation and family detention are inhumane practices that create severe due process barriers: the administration should end these policies without delay.

Family Detention is Not a Solution to Family Separation

Royce Murray, Policy Director of American Immigration Council, explains the alternatives to detention for families seeking asylum.

Read more below:

AILA Statements and Resources

• Policy Brief: S. 3478 Would Codify Cruelty Against Arriving Children – September 25, 2018
• AILA Policy Brief on Family Separation and Detention – August 3, 2018
• Audio from Telebriefing on Family Separation and Family Reunifications – July 24, 2018
• AILA Press Statement: Expanding Family Detention is Not the Answer to Cruel Family Separation Policy
• AILA Policy Brief: New Barriers at the Border Impede Due Process and Access to Asylum
• AILA Quicktake #242: Executive Order on Family Separation Policy
• AILA Member Talking Points on Family Separation
• Sign-On Letter to Appropriators to Reject Reprogramming Requests Made By DHS
• AILA Press Statement: DOJ and DHS Decide to Forcibly Separate Families and Prosecute Asylum Seekers

Coalition Partners' Statements and Resources

• American Immigration Council's Immigration Impact: Here Is the Latest on President Trump's Family Separation Policy
• Women's Refugee Commission: The Flores Settlement and Family Separation at the Border
• KIND-Family Separation: Myth v. Fact
• ACLU: Fact Checking Family Separation
• KIND and Women's Refugee Commission Press Release: Family Separation at The Border
• CLINIC Provides a Practitioner's Guide to Obtaining Release From Immigration Detention
• The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law Foundation: Practice Advisory on Bond Hearings for Youth in Immigration-Related Custody

Legislation Concerning Family Separation

• S. 3227: REUNITE Act; H.R. 6594 REUNITE Act (Companion Bills)
• S. 3036, Keep Families Together Act; H.R. 6135, Keep Families Together Act (Companion Bills)
• S. 3091, Protect Kids and Parents Act
• H.R. 6136, Border Security and Immigration Reform Act
• H.R. 4760, Securing America's Future Act
  
  • AILA recommends that representatives vote "no" on H.R. 6136 and H.R. 4760.

Take Action to End Family Separation and Detention

• Take Action: Congress Must Call on DHS and DOJ to End Family Separation and Family Detention
• AILA Member Talking Points on Family Separation and EO Seeking Expansion to Family Detention
• AILA Members' Letter to the Editor Template on Family Separation

Learn additional ways you can fight against family detention and family separation by supporting AILA and the American Immigration Council's Immigration Justice Campaign.

Litigation, Complaints, and FOIA Requests Concerning Family Separation

• American Immigration Council: Uncovering the Government's Internal Family Separation Policies, Guidance, and Data
• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging Prolonged Detention of Immigrant Children in New York (L.V.M v. Lloyd, 6/27/18)
• District Court Judge Orders Reunification of Parents and Children (Ms. L.; et al., v. ICE, 6/26/18)
• NWIRP Files Lawsuit Challenging Forcible Separation of Parents and Children (Padilla, et. al., v. ICE, 6/25/18)
• 17 States File Complaint in District Court Against Family Separation (State of Washington, et. al, v. USA, 6/26/18)
• Joint Complaint Filed With DHS on Behalf of Families Forcibly Separated in CBP Custody
• American Immigration Council's Family Separation FOIA Request

Complaint Filed Over DHS Officials’ Use of Coercion Against Separated Parents

• Press Statement: Complaint Details Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
• AILA and the American Immigration Council Complaint: Use of Coercion By DHS Officials Against Separated Parents
• Redacted Complaint Declarations from Parents
• Recording of Press Call on Complaint
• Think Immigration Blog: The Government’s Use of Coercion on Separated Parents

Government Announcements and Memos

• DHS Issues Fact Sheet on Zero-Tolerance Prosecution and Family Reunification
• CBP Issues Statement on Implementing Executive Order on Family Separation
• President Trump Signs Executive Order on Family Separation
• DHS Publishes FAQs on Zero Tolerance Immigration Prosecutions and Families
• DHS Publishes Myth vs. Fact Document on Its Zero-Tolerance Policy
• DHS and HHS Provide Handout on Next Steps for Families in DHS Custody
• Attorney General Announces Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal Entry
• Attorney General Issues Memo Announcing a Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal Entry
• Memorandum for All Federal Prosecutors: Renewed Commitment to Immigration Enforcement

Other Statements and Resources

• Selected News Clips on Family Separation
• Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force: Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Alternatives to Family Detention
• House Democrats Request Investigation to Reunite Children and Families
• Senators Urge the President to End Family Separation at the Border
• Democratic Leaders Demand DHS and DOJ End Cruel Practice of Separating Families At The Border
• Kaiser Family Foundation: Key Health Implications of Family Separation at the Border
• ABA Sends Letter to DOJ and DHS Expressing Strong Opposition to Family Separation

Media Coverage

• The New York Times: Government Medical Experts Say Detaining Migrant Families ‘Poses High Risk of Harm’
• Reveal: Defense contractor detained migrant kids in vacant Phoenix office building
• USA TODAY: How a judge can punish Trump administration over separated families
• Reuters: Tech issues plague U.S. web portal tracking separated children
• The Daily Beast: Feds Told Immigrant Moms: Pay for DNA to Get Kids Back
• The New York Times: Trump Administration in Chaotic Scramble to Reunify Migrant Families
• The New Yorker: Parents Are Struggling to Reclaim Their Children from the Office of Refugee Resettlement

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 18062033.