Trump’s executive order on family separation
Here is the bulk of it:
It is the policy of this Administration to rigorously enforce our immigration laws. Under our laws, the only legal way for an alien to enter this country is at a designated port of entry at an appropriate time. When an alien enters or attempts to enter the country anywhere else, that alien has committed at least the crime of improper entry and is subject to a fine or imprisonment under section 1325(a) of title 8, United States Code. This Administration will initiate proceedings to enforce this and other criminal provisions of the INA until and unless Congress directs otherwise. It is also the policy of this Administration to maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources. It is unfortunate that Congress’s failure to act and court orders have put the Administration in the position of separating alien families to effectively enforce the law.
…The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, maintain custody of alien families during the pendency of any criminal improper entry or immigration proceedings involving their members…
(b) The Secretary shall not, however, detain an alien family together when there is a concern that detention of an alien child with the child’s alien parent would pose a risk to the child’s welfare.
(c) The Secretary of Defense shall take all legally available measures to provide to the Secretary, upon request, any existing facilities available for the housing and care of alien families, and shall construct such facilities if necessary and consistent with law. The Secretary, to the extent permitted by law, shall be responsible for reimbursement for the use of these facilities.
(d) Heads of executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent consistent with law, make available to the Secretary, for the housing and care of alien families pending court proceedings for improper entry, any facilities that are appropriate for such purposes. The Secretary, to the extent permitted by law, shall be responsible for reimbursement for the use of these facilities.
(e) The Attorney General shall promptly file a request with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to modify the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Sessions, CV 85-4544 (“Flores settlement”), in a manner that would permit the Secretary, under present resource constraints, to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings.
Sec. 4. Prioritization of Immigration Proceedings Involving Alien Families. The Attorney General shall, to the extent practicable, prioritize the adjudication of cases involving detained families…
There will be a ton of criticism—no doubt it’s already starting. From the hard right: he caved! From Trump opponents right and left: he said he couldn’t do it, and he lied! Or, they’re still detaining children!!! (complete with heartrending photos).
I think it’s an excellent start, and might rob the entire issue of some of its force despite the continuation of the propaganda efforts of those opposed. Problems abound, however, The order is titled “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation.” Well, it’s an opportunity, but somehow I doubt Congress will take it. In addition, there probably won’t be enough facilities to house families; that’s been one of the many problems right along, as I described in previous posts on the subject. What’s more, the prioritizing of the “adjudication of cases involving detained families” is one of the other stumbling blocks; there just aren’t enough judges, and in the meantime these families could be in detention for a long time, affording opportunity for more propaganda.
Part (e), the request that the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Sessions, be modified “in a manner that would permit the Secretary, under present resource constraints, to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings,” is an excellent idea as well. It puts the ball in the court where it belongs, and highlights the legal impediments that need redressing.
Re: The order is titled “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation.”
It should have been titled “Regrettably undoing Obama’s legacy”
Of course now the left will say: “See? The heartless bigot only changed the policy after he was shamed into doing so! He could have changed the policy before!” My next question is: OK, what else are we going to cave into under pressure?
First stop the incursion by building the wall! Meanwhile ‘arrest’ all crossing and either take them to a port of entry and corral them there in stockades with shade and water. Trying to work out a solution should continue and the parties on both sides should be named.
I’m sure that the next attack will be to highlight the jailing of innocent children and that the families should be released into the US. I’ve already seen a tweet about that issue already.
GET ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE HOT! Kids Held by Obama In 2014 Like heated Tamales:
https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/migrant-child-crisis-idUSRTR3UJLN
I’m one who considers himself hard right.
And I don’t think he caved. I see this as Ju-jitsu; I don’t think this order really does much at all that isn’t already being done (as in many of the children being held separately aren’t even with family, etc.). I also think that the flaws are by design.
It would serve Trump’s purpose to enact an EO that the 9th Circuit will just stop and call unlawful.
“See, I tried to help? But congress made this problem and the courts won’t let me fix it.”
Trump is in a situation where he can please almost no one. That is a given when it comes to the sob story of the children.
These families (which are not in many cases families ) are mostly people who want to escape the violence and corruption in El Salvaor and Honduras. In order to reach our border they must cross Mexico. Mexico is the first stop where they should be requesting asylum. Of course, Mexico doesn’t want them, better to let the Yanques shoulder the burden.
They come, for the most part uneducated, lacking skills, and with little interest in assimilating. For the most part they are lured by our generosity. They lower wages for Americans. They are a burden to our welfare, education, and criminal justice systems. They commit identity theft and can end up on voter rolls. Ah, the costs of compassion is not important if the left can manufacture a ballot box majority by hook or by crook.
As far as separating families is concerned, what about the American families separated by criminal aliens when they send a member of an American family (daughter, son, father, or mother) to a grave? But the left doesn’t care about those families. My give a damn remains busted.
Thanks Parker…as usual…spot on.
Mine too BTW.
This is, of course, a manufactured crisis first by the Trump admin and secondly by the America First nativists who believe that there is no limit to the costs we should incur to prevent people from coming here in the same manner their ancestors did for hundreds of years.
Glad they’re not separating families, in theory (we’ll see given Flores settlement and requirements there). But jailing families for misdemeanors is just less cruel.
Glad to see Parker is still insane. “Sending Americans to their grave…” what hog wash.
I asked this on Twitter: is it more dangerous to let in an immigrant with a background check or to hand a gun to a US citizen with a background check?
It’s the latter, FYI.
So, holmes…please explain how (and why) the Trump administration “manufactured” this crisis. Why in the world would they want to do that?
This is, of course, a manufactured crisis first by the Trump admin and secondly by the America First nativists who believe that there is no limit to the costs we should incur to prevent people from coming here in the same manner their ancestors did for hundreds of years.
So, I guess you would support denying illegals any welfare ? Like our immigrant ancestors?
There is a lot of bad faith on this. I would suggest the Cruz bill plus DNA testing before any children are returned to adults.
80% of the children in custody are unaccompanied minors. 80% of asylum requests are denied as fraud.
Well holmes,
I must be insane if I want to have legal immigration instead of illegal aliens crashing our borders. Do you ever get tired of being a Maoist running dog lackey? It must be exhausing.
Keep up the good work.
Gerard vanderleun,
Those were unaccompanied children in that detention center in Arizona in 2014. What’s happening now has to do with children who came with their families and have been separated from them.
Commenter “holmes” in January of 2013:
More from the holmes of yesteryear on the topic of immigration, legal and illegal: this, this, and this,
Ann,
How do you know all those children illegally came in with their family? I will guess that some did and others didn’t. And the larger question is why were unaccompanied children allowed to crash the border in 2014? Hmmm, I can think of several reasons; just I can think of reasons why the Obama ATF allowed firearms to illegally cross over into Mexico and end up in the hands of criminals. I have other questions, but that will do for now.
Ann:
Some of the children are separated because, among other things, it is not at all clear that they are actually with their families, or whether the people are instead child exploiters who claim these children are theirs. It is a very real problem, in addition to all the other problems, and I have yet to see any numbers on how often it is the case.
Hey holmes,
I thought the issue was illegal aliens crashing the border, not immigrants who have stood in line, sometimes for years, to enter legally, obtain a green card, and blend in and become productive residents who may one day become citizens if they so choose. You’re right I am insane.
BTW, hoplophobia is a mental issue, seek help. Oh, I forgot I am a life time NRA terrorist who has actually owned a firearm since I was 8 delivered to the homestead by the USPS without a background check. All these decades later, and with all the firearms I have owned over 60+ years later, I still have insanely failed to murder anyone.. My bad.
I don’t think Trump caved, no matter how the Soros backed mouthpieces might spin it.
As to the broader issue, here is my three line response to every breast beating, virtue signaling, pack following, ill informed, insufferable, hypocritical progressive…
I will shed a tear for these children when you shed a tear for the victims in Rotherham. Oh, you haven’t heard of Rotherham? My lack of surprise is only exceeded by the amount of intellectual and moral vacuity you cannot help but display.*
*Sigh*
*I realize Rotherham occurred in a different country under different circumstances. Yet the egregious indifference/ignorance of a vast majority of lefties and self styled “human rights advocates” of this tragedy is jarring. It greatly diminishes what little moral authority (which was miniscule to begin with) any of them had.
Ok holmes,
I did some research for you. Go to fairus.org and search for “examples of serious crime”. But then, the people at fairus are insane, the family of Kathryn Steinle are insane when their daughter’s murderer was found not guilty after killing her with an illegal firearm. You must be a resident of San Francisco or at least see a spark of divinity in MS13 members. Those fine young killers and rapists children, sob, yearning to be free.
Word to the wise, I am relentless when it comes to not suffering fools. With others that I disagree with I cut a lot of slack and realize I am not always right. You don’t fall into that category. 5 rifles, none evil ‘assault’ rifles and no notches on them. Must be insane, I have failed to murder anyone, I admit I am a failure as a bitter clinger.
Cheers!
Yes, Neo, I’ve shifted entirely. Whereas before I went along with the tribe, I no longer care. It’s not hypocrisy; it’s growth. If we had more like me, we wouldn’t have Trump.
But instead we have hateful Parkers and similar who are just RightWing LARPers.
Ah yes we separated children because we were *checks tribal notes* worried about trafficking.
Except that’s not what they were doing- they were doing it to be cruel as a deterrent. Even when they knew they were family. It’s absolutely abhorrent.
Looking at those old comments I am so embarrassed I ever embraced hardcore conservative anything. It’s a joke. It’s not facts of life- it’s just calloused mostly. Otherwise conservatives are irrelevant even in their own party now, not that it matters.
the family values party. the prolife party. for jailing kids you know just in case.
And for Jewish conservatives not to squint at all of this and think “Hmm, looks vaguely familiar” is a disgrace.
Anyway, glad to see you are well, Neo. I won’t be back here. Wish you the best.
Holmes left without explaining his own reason for leaving the fold. It would have been interesting to find out how one deliberately adopts emotionalism over sound reasoning and finds that better at getting to the truth. How is abandoning empiricism better? What other laws do we just ignore because they are sympathetically taxing?
It is sad to see people failing to look at the situation rationally. Kids were brought into the country illegally by some adults. We don’t know who these people were, they could be ISIS or they could be criminals fleeing from the laws of origin country, or they could be traffickers kidnapping kids as their human shield to gain access into the country by fooling fools like the democrats who have never stopped for a second if their fake compassion would cause more kids to be kidnapped by bad people away from their parents as passports to enter this country. And the chance that becoming a realty is very real if we abide to what liberals demand that we should let everyone stay with no question asked as long as they bring kids along.
seriously is it okay for us to call democrats Child murderers if they support abortion? funny the kids are separated for their own good, even if they are real parents they should be charged of endangering their children by implicating them into their criminal and dangerous activities.
I like this particular refrain throughout the order:
“to the extent consistent with law, ”
The only way to get bad laws corrected is to actually enforce them until people get the idea.
The major problem with phone-and-pen presidents is that they “change” the law on the fly with selective enforcement or downright making-things-up.
I prefer this approach.
* *
Harry Says:
June 20th, 2018 at 5:01 pm
Of course now the left will say: “See? The heartless bigot only changed the policy after he was shamed into doing so! He could have changed the policy before!” My next question is: OK, what else are we going to cave into under pressure?
* *
It’s bad enough to cave after being pressured, but apparently the Left wants the GOP to do it before the pressure is applied.
Yeah, right.
Re those families and children:
“On a call with reporters Tuesday, Brian Hastings, the Border Patrol’s acting chief of law enforcement operations said there had been 148 cases of fraud — a category he said is mostly comprised of undocumented immigrants posing as family members when they are not — between October and April of this year.
Between the Justice Department’s May 5 announcement of mandatory prosecution referrals for illegal border-crossers and June 9, Hastings said the Border Patrol had referred 2,235 family units for prosecution, creating 2,342 unaccompanied minors as a result.”
Ackler Says:
June 20th, 2018 at 10:10 pm
I don’t think Trump caved, no matter how the Soros backed mouthpieces might spin it….
I will shed a tear for these children when you shed a tear for the victims in Rotherham.
* * *
I am dreading the day when someone finally breaks down and publishes a similar story here in the USA. We already have situations that are close, although it is mostly illegals & their enablers preying on other illegals.
However, I no longer have confidence that our own law enforcement in some localities will be any more vigilant and protective of the victims than were the ones in Rotherham and other places in the UK (not even counting the rape culture of Germany and Sweden).
Ann:
Cases of fraud determined, that is. It doesn’t tell us how many have occurred. Unless the authorities are doing DNA tests—which I am pretty sure they are not doing—it’s hard to know. Could be a small number or a relatively large number. I doubt it’s a huge number, however. Even if it’s a relatively small number, it’s an important thing to curb, and if a family is released into the community too quickly (or a fake “family”) it can never be determined and children are victimized. I haven’t been able to get any statistics on what percentage of illegal immigrants have any sort of identity papers, either, and the lack of any official ID would make the problem all the more difficult to resolve.
Here’s some info on the DNA test issue.
No, GOP was not using the kids as hostages, it is the Democrats who are using the kids as hostages to force the Trump Admin to release all whole families into the states by disguising it as the solution to not separating families. We all know they will not show up in courts, if the kids are not the real children of the adults bringing them in they could possibly be killed and disposed in a nearby dumpster.
In many third world countries, you know how many Children were kidnapped from their parents, got arms and legs amputated and forced into tourist begging because of ill advised liberal tourists from the west like Ann who like to virtual signal by giving lots of money to handicapped beggars? We are facing the same exact situation here, stop endangering children with your ill advised lazy thinking good intentions please. we are protecting them.
Aesop,
I agree entirely. I have little doubt, it’s only a matter of time before an American Rotherham story breaks. And when it does, how many of the progressives shrieking about these border detentions today, will utter one comment, or even notice??
I try mightily to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, to never succumb entirely to cynicism about my fellows (either their intellectual or moral capacity). But doing so truly is a mighty challenge.
It always amazes me that lefties always conflate illegal immigrants with legal immigrants — and think we won’t notice it! I guess they think we are as stupid as they are.
I don’t see that the immigration problem will ever get solved. The Dems will never vote for any Republican bill, whatever it says, the Freedom Caucus would rather die on that hill than compromise, and there are enough big donors to both parties who love having cheap, off-the-books or phony paper labor, whether it be agricultural, factory, food service, or gardeners and nannies, to stop any bill, no matter how reasonable. If Trump can pull this off, I will rate this as nearly as good as a denuking deal with the Norks, and if he can pull both deals off, he will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents ever.
I was reading a story at Politico on the order, and was struck at the difference between the headline and the URL (the implicit anti-Trump bias was pretty much what I expected).
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/20/im-ashamed-of-what-theyre-doing-backlash-grows-for-trump-and-his-aides-655498
Trump signs executive order halting family separations
The furor over forcibly removing children from their parents prompted the administration to move without waiting for Congress.
By ANDREW RESTUCCIA and LORRAINE WOELLERT 06/20/2018 09:32 AM EDT Updated 06/20/2018 10:01 PM EDT
* * *
As a contrast to all the Crocodile Tears of the Left today, this Twitter-stream by a lawyer who represents Illegal Aliens is very trenchant in its criticism of Obama’s policies about family separation:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/06/20/liberal-immigration-attorney-details-how-obama-himself-justified-separating-families/
3/ Just days before, President Obama’s senior immigration policy advisor @cecmunoz had received a chilly welcome during her keynote address to the @AILANational annual conference attendees in National Harbor. She was greeted with silent protest & signs saying #EndFamilyDetention
…
5/ So the President’s immediate association of “End Family Detention” with immigration lawyers wasn’t random. He’d been told and believed we were basically the only ones who’d care, and even then, it would be a minority of us that wouldn’t extract from him a political cost.
6/ So when I said “Yes”, the President looked back and engaged: “I’ll tell you what we can’t have. It’s these parents sending their kids here on a dangerous journey and putting their lives at risk.”
…
8/ First, the President tacitly admittedly that he was using detention of mothers and children as a deterrent. Days later, a federal court would find that policy likely violates the due process clause. https://www.aclu.org/cases/rilr-v-johnson …. And rightly so, as @ACLU powerfully demonstrated.
Speaking of bias and subversion at the FBI and DOJ …
anyone think this woman will lose her job for “embarassing her employer” with her after-hours (and during-hours) hobbies?
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/06/21/socialist-activist-who-harassed-sec-kirstjen-nielsen-at-dinner-works-for-justice-dept/
“Despite Hrabar’s claims of keeping her personal politics outside of her time as an employee of the federal government, a look at her Twitter account, @allisongeroi, features tweets during the workday openly celebrating her behavior Tuesday night.
“Keeping families together in jail is not an acceptable solution,” Hrabar tweeted Wednesday afternoon at 1:56 PM.”
This is how you get more Trump.
Contra the “He Caved!” laments:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/06/20/trump-order-on-family-separations-is-not-a-reversal-of-policy-but-it-does-punt-a-key-issue/
“Democrats are not as interested in the fate of children as they are in making sure the adults accompanying them in illegal border crossings are released into the U.S. population without their cases decided. The purpose of structuring law to create untenable situations is to make unprotected borders seem like the only option. This is why Schumer was adamant that fixing the law — which Republicans have two viable bills in progress to do — is not the right solution.
It turns out, however, that Trump has not ended the zero-tolerance policy, nor will the administration end all separations. According to his executive order, the zero-tolerance policy will continue. CNBC has a summary of the order’s provisions, which I have annotated with comments:
…
Trump actually didn’t give anything up. The mainstream media are framing this as a big political fail for him. …
But that is categorically untrue: he has not ended “zero tolerance,” and he has not “ended family separations.” The family separation policy has not changed at all from the policy outlined at the DHS website prior to the order.
What Trump did do was “sign an order.” It is even somewhat humorous that he made the exact concession Chuck Schumer demanded on Tuesday: he signed an order. It just doesn’t contain what Schumer wants.
The “punt” in this action is twofold, with both folds putting pressure on Republicans in Congress. One is the directive to Jeff Sessions to file a motion in federal court to change the Flores settlement.
…
The other punt is found in the title of the order: “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation.”
Trump was clear, and the order is clear, that this is a temporary measure. Trump has not adopted the Obama policy of catch-and-release, as long as you can cross the border with a child in tow. The order is meant to give Congress time to address the need for additional capacity so that it is feasible to enforce border security and immigration law without having to separate children from parents during detention periods.
We’ll see if Congress can do that. If this remains unresolved through the summer, it will not go well for Democrats in November.
I recommend not listening to the tone and emphasis of the MSM coverage. Trump isn’t “backing down” with this order. The media are — sorry, there’s no other word for it — simply lying about what he is doing. This wouldn’t be the first time on this topic; Howard Portnoy pointed out this morning that quite suddenly, the media acknowledge the relevance and meaning of the 1997 immigration law and the Flores decision, which they had previously insisted was either irrelevant, or even non-existent.”
That oopsie post is here:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/06/20/now-the-fun-begins-msm-explains-law-that-never-existed-that-trump-was-following/
illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. an american citizenship has its value, any citizenship stolen away by a low skilled labor entitlement receiver is one less legal immigrant opening to offer a world class athlete who can win a gold medal for the USA or potential nobel prize winning scientist or an entrepreneur who is going to create a billion dollar company hiring thousands of Americans. I see no difference between illegal immigrants and tax fraud as both are stealing from the government. When Liberals are happy that Kushner’s dad went to jail for tax fraud then why are they condoning illegal immigration given that the natural of the crimes is the same – stealing from the government.
“for Jewish conservatives not to squint at all of this and think “Hmm, looks vaguely familiar” is a disgrace.”
Your a disgrace, holmes, trying to compare this to Nazi Germany. What caused your 180, a girlfriend you’re trying to please? I think it’s more of a disgrace for Jewish liberals to support the party of Farrakhan and Sharpton.
“I won’t be back here.”
DLTDHYAOTWO
“Anyway, glad to see you are well, Neo … Wish you the best.”
After basically calling neo a Nazi. What a smarmy phony punk.
“I recommend not listening to the tone and emphasis of the MSM coverage. ”
I”m way ahead of you, AF, I’ve been doing that for years :^).
Holmes, if you’ve really changed, surely you must be tolerant of people who thought as you once did. A lesson for us all, in line with Neo’s story of changing beliefs.
How would the current you judge the you of yesterday? Would you talk to yourself the way you talk to others sharing their belief today?
Were the children old enough to give consent to parents to smuggle them away from their birth places to a foreign country they have no right to be in? knowingly forcing a kid to live a life as illegal immigrant in a foreign country not to mention the torturous journey kids were subjected to to enter this country constitutes child abuse to me, separating innocent victims from abusive parents before everything gets sorted out is the right thing to do.
Dear holmes,
I think you are still reading responses and seeking sympathy. Just to thrust the blade in a few millimeters deeper and vigourously twist, I remain relentless. Neo, and others, can be a bit ‘soft’. So can I when warranted.
Perhaps it may be our paths will cross when it all comes down to dust, rest assured I will give you one sip of water. But one sip only.
Ann, I’d like to address the issue of incentives, as others have done here. Can we generally agree that rewarding a type of behavior tends to cause people to exhibit it more often? (And punishing, less of it?) I hope we have at least this much common ground – otherwise we will disagree about education (grades and their equivalent are a reward intended not only to show a student where she stands, but to encourage her to do her best), law as a principle (fines and the threat of imprisonment are intended to incentivize people to behave in pro-social ways), any science that studies and seeks to influence animal or human behavior…
So. If we have this belief in common that incentives have at least some effect, can we also agree that creating perverse incentives is something to be avoided? And then, can we agree that it can be very hard to avoid creating such perverse incentives, especially when the situation activates our human compassion (which both sides of the political aisle possess; no matter how left you are – a question I don’t know the answer to – surely you personally know at least one person as far to the right, and God willing, that person is not a monster – though of course those also exist on both sides)? In those cases, it’s tempting to act on the basis of that compassion and then step away, ignoring the effects of any perverse incentives thus created by a lack of, or inaccurate, analysis. But that approach is irresponsible.
If we’ve gotten this far with some degree of agreement, I most sincerely hope that, no matter what you feel compelled to say here, somewhere in your mind you can admit that this question of illegal immigration and how to handle it is a sticky wicket, particularly with regard to how to “process” families (taking for the moment the optimistic view that all these multi-age groupings are families with no intent but to escape bad conditions at home). Conditions are bad in many, many places around the world; global communications now give people in those places unprecedented amounts of information about how much better things are in the US, and global transportation (including long distance shipping, trucking, and even just paved roads) make the movement of people easier than ever before, such that even a family with several children might believe that the benefit to be gained outweighs the danger of life on the move. It’s patent that we can’t absorb ALL the tired, poor, huddled masses that there are. So we must have limits, some sort of screening, and processes for dealing with those who reach our borders.
We differ on what those structures should be. But if we also share a belief that the US is a place worth coming to (else why would so many want to?) shouldn’t Congressional Democrats be trying to solve the problem too, giving hard thought to avoiding perverse incentives, instead of just crying about how mean Congressional Republicans and the President are? This is why we on the right are so cynical about the tears being shed.
> Except that’s not what they were doing- they were doing it to be cruel as a deterrent. Even when they knew they were family. It’s absolutely abhorrent.
They — including the Obama administration — were doing it on account of the Flores settlement entered into by the Obama administration.
The EO definition for “alien child” is someone who is under the age of 18 and “(iii) has a legal parent-child relationship to an alien who entered the United States with the alien child at or between designated ports of entry and who was detained.” So I’m guessing that a fairly high percentage of the “children” detained are not going to meet this definition and will fall under the old rules.
I love your point E, Neo. From the EO, when, oh, when has this comment ever been brought up: “under present resource constraints”?
I am impressed with how restricted this EO is. That is how we stop the slippery slope.
“Glad to see Parker is still insane. “Sending Americans to their grave…” what hog wash.”
Kate Steinle unavailable for comment…
Bill Lawrence Says:
June 21st, 2018 at 7:33 pm
Heh. They obviously haven’t met me, if they think Parker is that. Quite innocent and childish of them.