This is a good summary. It’s clear that many of the same immigration activists who are now complaining about family separations have been litigating in federal court to force the government to separate children from adults who were caught here illegally after only 20 days.
It actually seems to be a strategy. Force the separations in court, and then point to their harshness or even cruelty to get the detained adults released. Many of them then disappear into the woodwork. And all this is an incentive for other families to try to come here illegally.
It has become such a racket that many people come here with kids who are not even their own, but they falsely represent that they are. And it is made possible because the government, until recently, chose to treat illegal immigration as a civil wrong rather than a misdemeanor.
The Trump Administration “solution” and new policy is to treat illegal immigration as a criminal misdemeanor, use that as a basis to detain the adults, and simply allow the child separations to happen — as a deterrent to the adults. It’s harsh and it’s arguably cruel to the kids.
As Lowry points out, Congress can fix this problem by reversing the results of litigation that currently forces the government to release children after 20 days even if parents are being detained.
This solution would be able to enable the government to keep families together while their deportation claims are being adjudicated. But of course, the Democrats are opposed to this solution. They want decriminalization and an end to pre-adjudication detentions altogether.
This problem never gets fixed because Dems see illegal immigrants as future citizens and Dem voters and so do GOPers. We don’t stop to think and debate about what immigration policy should be. It’s a subject where both sides benefit politically by appealing to the worst emotions.
