Trump has spent the past week blaming Democrats for the separation of children at the southern border while claiming he had no control over the policy, but Trump has issued an executive order to end the policy which -- surprise!-- actually is under his control.
And that's really quite the admission, isn't it? Trump has blamed Democrats for the policy, his advisers have said the policy is great, and his cabinet have said the policy doesn't exist. But it does!
Now, it's good news that children will no longer be separated from their parents, but here's the bad news: they'll probably be housed in adult prisons alongside their parents which might be illegal.
via Reuters:
Trump, whose administration weeks ago began separating hundreds of children from their parents at the border, did not describe the specifics of the order.
“I’ll be doing something that’s somewhat pre-emptive but ultimately will be matched by legislation I’m sure,” Trump told reporters at the White House. [...]
The New York Times reported Trump was preparing an executive order that ends the separation of families by indefinitely detaining parents and children together, flouting a court settlement that prohibits such a move, according to a person familiar with his plans.
If Trump's latest policy is challenged and struck down in court, it's entirely possible children will be separated from their parents all over again.
And there will be no matching legislation. As of this morning, House Republicans did not have enough votes to pass a hardline or slightly more "moderate" immigration bill. Does anyone really believe they'll pass a bill that isn't too monstrous to pass through the Senate after so many years of doing absolutely nothing?
The root cause of this dilemma is Trump's "zero tolerance" policy for crossing the border which calls for mandatory prosecution for a misdemeanor offense regardless of individual circumstances. Until that policy ends, immigrants and their children will be detained indefinitely whether they're together or not. Neither the Obama or Bush administrations required mandatory prosecutions.
Indefinitely detaining families together will make comparisons to Japanese internment camps more apt than ever.