Trump Reverses Course on Family Separations After Outcry


President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order ending the policy of separating migrant children from their parents as the parents await trial for attempting to enter the United States illegally.

In April, the Trump administration announced a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal entry, and had been separating families trying to cross together.

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Images of children being taken away from their parents provoked emotional reactions around the U.S. and the world. Democrats and even some Republicans called the policy inhumane.

“We’re going to keep families together, but we still have to maintain toughness (at the border) or our country will be overrun,” Trump said Wednesday.

While it’s still unclear whether the president’s reversal will solve the political crisis created by the policy, the language of the executive order is likely to spark a legal challenge. In order to keep families together as the parents await trial, government attorneys will seek to modify a consent decree that puts limits on how long minors can be detained.

Joining us to share their thoughts are immigration attorney Shannon Shepherd, a member of the Chicago Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association; and Jennifer Nevins, who was a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.


Related stories:

Rauner Calls Separating Families ‘Wrong’ But Mum on Border Troops

Chicago Groups Challenge Trump Administration on Immigration

Report: US Border Patrol Officials Have Abused Young Migrants

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