In one case, lawyers say, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers left a woman alone at a bus stop with her young kids and no bus ticket. In another, ICE officers were unable to affix a mother with an ankle monitor, so they sent her back to detention without her children.
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
There are new, tougher guidelines for migrants seeking asylum in the United States
The federal agency that handles the first step in asylum claims sent a memo to all its officers Wednesday that tightens restrictions on migrants who are seeking asylum.
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Families Divided
Trump officials want to give migrant families two options: Stay detained together or agree to separation
U.S. Department of Justice lawyers are seeking permission from a federal judge to offer separated immigrant families two options: remain together in family detention centers, or release kids while parents stay detained.
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Families Divided
From El Paso to Brownsville, the path to reunification isn’t easy for immigrant parents
After he was separated from his 10-year-old daughter, Mario, an undocumented Honduran, was finally able to see her Tuesday. The reunion lasted for about an hour before the two were separated again.
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Families Divided
Migrant mom makes difficult choice: Move farther from son for better chance at asylum
Claudia says she was one of several migrant women moved from an Austin-area detention facility to be closer to their children in South Texas. But Claudia wants to return to Central Texas, hundreds of miles from her 7-year-old son, where her lawyer thinks she has a better shot at being granted asylum.
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Families Divided
Immigrant fathers are reunited with their young children in El Paso
Young children separated from their parents under President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy were reunited with their fathers late Tuesday in El Paso.
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Families Divided
As reunification deadline lands, dozens of immigrant children under 5 remain separated from their parents
At least 38 children will be reunified ahead of a Tuesday deadline, and a federal judge called on the government to speed up parental vetting processes to reunite 26 more with their parents by the end of the day.
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Families Divided
U.S. and Mexico discussing a deal that could slash migration at the border
The two nations are weighing a proposal that could require asylum-seekers going through Mexico to apply for protection there rather than in the United States.
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Families Divided
“A very cruel punishment”: A family split by “zero tolerance” won’t try to cross again, mom says
Since they crossed the Rio Grande and requested asylum, a father has been held in a detention center near Houston while his 6-year-old daughter was shipped to an Arizona shelter. Back in Honduras, the girl’s mother says she fears her daughter will be traumatized by the ordeal.
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Families Divided
While migrant families seek shelter from violence, Trump administration narrows path to asylum
Advocates for asylum-seekers at the border say a long difficult process has become increasingly unjust. And the Trump administration shows no signs of changing its tune.