NBC News Obtains Draft Memo on Policy Option to Respond to Border Surge
A draft plan obtained by NBC News also shows officials wanted to specifically target parents in migrant families for increased prosecutions.
Trump administration officials weighed speeding up the deportation of migrant children by denying them their legal right to asylum hearings after separating them from their parents. The draft also shows officials wanted to specifically target parents in migrant families for increased prosecutions, contradicting the administration's previous statements.
The authors noted that the "increase in prosecutions would be reported by the media and it would have a substantial deterrent effect."
The draft plan was provided to NBC News by the office of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), which says it was leaked by a government whistleblower.