More than 16,000 family members were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in September, the highest number ever and an 80 percent increase from July, according to federal statistics obtained by The Washington Post
Families Divided
President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy drew sharp rebukes after it was announced in April 2018 — especially after children who had been separated from their parents started being placed in a tent city in Tornillo. Trump signed an executive order June 20 that would keep immigrant families together, but it’s unclear how — or if — families that have already been separated will be reunited. With support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, The Texas Tribune has been reporting on the issue from the Texas-Mexico border, Washington, D.C., and Austin. You can help by sending story tips to tips@texastribune.org.
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Families Divided
Migrants seeking safe harbor in the U.S. must first survive shootouts and shakedowns in Mexico
Few would dispute that life has gotten tougher for people who are in the United States without legal permission. But in recent years, it’s grown even more dangerous for immigrants in Mexico — mostly Central Americans trying to make their way to the United States.
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Families Divided
U.S. officials have been keeping migrants from crossing bridges. Now, Mexico is doing the same.
Advocates and lawyers on both sides of the border say this increased immigration enforcement from Mexican officials may be the result of cartel influence, politics or the United States itself.
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Families Divided
Hundreds of migrant kids haven’t been reunited with their parents. What’s taking so long?
Some 350 children separated from their migrant parents this summer have yet to be reunified, despite a court-ordered July 26 deadline to do it and endless hours of pro bono legal aid. About half of those kids are on track for reunification.
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Families Divided
Southwest Key CEO has financial stake in property leased by migrant shelter operator
Sanchez is part owner of a property leased by Southwest Key Programs, a spokesperson said. It wasn’t disclosed on the company’s tax return because it’s not required.
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Families Divided
Why did the Trump administration separate asylum-seekers from their kids?
The federal government claims that it separated thousands of migrant kids from their parents for one reason: The parents broke the law by entering the U.S. illegally. But the account of a Guatemalan mother named Sandy, told in this week’s episode of Reveal in partnership with the Texas Tribune, tells a different story.
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Families Divided
Southwest Key hires child welfare organization to review processes
The Child Welfare League of America was hired in response to allegations that Southwest Key employees were improperly screened and because of “an inherent desire to make sure that we don’t have a systemic issue that needs to be corrected,” a spokesperson said.
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Families Divided
Critics say new barriers on border bridge are meant to deter asylum-seekers
Agents on the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge now occupy a large physical barrier at the bridge’s halfway point to manage the “influx of Central Americans seeking asylum.”
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Families Divided
Migrants get a second chance at asylum. But it’s still “an uphill battle.”
Although migrant families separated at the border this summer are getting a second chance to make their case for staying in the country, immigration lawyers say the Trump administration is working overtime to upend the nation’s asylum process.
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Families Divided
Number of migrant children in Texas shelters reaches new high despite end of “zero tolerance”
New data shows the number of migrant children held in privately run shelters in Texas reached a new high in September, even after the Trump administration said it would reunify families separated under the now-paused “zero tolerance” policy.