I'm going to go through some fact regarding the law and situation on the border one last time since at least a couple of people still care about the truth instead of just using this issue to get in your political attack:
1) Family separations are not new for those caught at the border. They are a byproduct of the parents being charged with unlawful entry and a law which prevents kids from being held in those same detention centers.
2) What is new: The Trump admin has declared a 0 tolerance policy for those that cross the border illegal, charging all of them with unlawful entry.. even those who claim to be asylum seekers. They claim this is an attempt at deterrence.
3) The other issue is that the system is severely underfunded. While some of the descriptions are exaggerated, it's clear that some facilities need updating and the shortage of resources leads to long delays for those seeking adjudication.
4) A lot of people have rightly objected to the Trump zero-tolerance policy, especially since it exacerbates the problems mentioned in point 3.
5) In terms of solutions: Congress can't dictate to the admin how to enforce unlawful entry laws and getting rid of those laws isn't a realistic solution. What they can do is close the loophole cited by the Trump admin which does not allow kids to be kept in the same facilities.
That is exactly the proposal being considered as part of several bipartisan immigration bills that will be considered next week. These bills also address the DACA issue and border security.
6) This is mostly true. Once the adult's case is complete and they receive their deportation order, they should be reunited and deported together. Of course it's now harder and there are delays bc of #3.
However, many parents obviously prefer to risk it and try to get asylum, which takes longer to adjudicate. One of the issues was that because it's handled by 2 separate agencies, there was no system for parents to find out where their kids were while cases are proceeding.
That doesn't mean they were lost or being mistreated, but obviously it's cruel to not give a parent info on their kid. Preferably, they would just be kept together, but if not, there should be a mechanism for them to find out. Recent ruling to do that: washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/…
7) Some have asked why don't asylum seekers just present themselves at a port of entry? Many do, but those people are subject to the removal process if they don't have legal status. Also, you need to be on U.S. soil to seek asylum. Some cross border and present to BP to qualify.
Here is a fairly good explanation of the process: 
8) Improper entry in a misdemeanor with a punishment of up to 6 months in prison and a fine. Repeat offenders can be charged with a felony.
Idea is that they must be detained while court decides if asylum claim is legitimate or they wouldn't come back.
Idea is that they must be detained while court decides if asylum claim is legitimate or they wouldn't come back.
This is an attempt to distinguish between asylum seekers at ports of entry and those who claim asylum after crossing. It's accurate, but there has been evidence of agents turning away asylum seekers at some POEs which incentivizes illegal crossings.
Adding this to the thread because a lot of people have asked about the Feinstein bill. This is my read, but I could be missing something:
On the Cruz bill:
