De la detención a la reunificación: rectificar los daños de la separación familiar (artículo en inglés)

Cora Cahill, Asistente de investigación de CCL

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
On April 6th, 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions stood on a platform along the coast of San Diego and announced a zero-tolerance policy that would prosecute 100% of “illegal” border crossings into the United States along the Southern border. Sessions informed the crowd that parents who entered illegally with their children would be separated as a part of his deterrence plan. As parents entered criminal or immigrant proceedings, their children would be held in make-shift, temporary detention centers, some of which were hastily constructed facilities with dirt or cement floors and walls that looked more like that of a cage than that of a center meant for children. While former President Trump signed an executive order in June 2018 prohibiting future family separations, little efforts were made on his part to reunite the some 3,924 children that were separated from their parents in the three months that followed Sessions’ announcement. Despite efforts through President Biden’s 2021 Interagency Family Reunification Task Force aimed at reuniting families affected by the Trump-era families separation policy, today, six years later, nearly 1,000 children remain separated from their parents and family separations keep taking place due to criminal history and gang affiliation of parents, as well as the government’s narrow definition of an alien family, which excludes nonparental family members such as grandparents or aunts and uncles. 

In the detention centers, children reported having to sleep on the ground with little to eat and care for babies as young as ten-months-old, feeding them with unwashed bottles who were meant to still be breastfeeding. They had little to no access to any form of personal hygiene including showers, running water, or even wipes and were often guarded by CBP employees who spoke limited Spanish and would ignore the needs of the children in the detention centers. Children were packed into rooms with little space to move around and were held for far longer than the 72 hours they were meant to as stated by law with no clean change or clothes or knowledge on how to contact their parents. And for the first time in ten years, children started dying under CBP watch. At least seven children died at the hands of CBP between 2018 and 2019, when the US saw the highest number of immigrant children being detained at the border. One 16-year-old boy who was sick with the flu was found dead on the cement floor of the detention center he was placed in and went unnoticed until he was discovered by his cellmate due to a series of failures and missteps on the part of CBP. 

A host of issues characterized the experiences of children separated from their parents at the border, and many families remain separated to this day. Children went far too long in inhumane conditions without their parents or legal guardians, and even when their families presented the court with documents showing other family members that parents entrusted to care for their children, they were denied because they were not within what the government defines as family. Additionally, those who have been reunited feel the effects of their time apart and the conditions they had to endure. Many parents witnessed their children being unresponsive, shy, stoic, and fearful of any situation in which they may have to leave their parents’ side, even for a minute. Children reported feeling hopeless and heartbroken throughout their separation and even after.

The trauma children endure at the hands of  CBP and other government agencies as they are held in detention centers is long-lasting. A study done by Mariela Olivares, a law professor at Howard University shows that exposure to “toxic stress” (long-term high-stress situations) results in depression, PTSD, and heart disease. The daily behavior of children is forever changed, many refusing to leave their parents’ sides, even to go to school, have trouble eating or sleeping, experience behavioral problems, and, in some cases, exhibit signs of deliberate self-harm. 

LOOKING FORWARD
With the recent reelection of Donald Trump, the possibility of family separation ramping up again seems imminent. Immigration and securing the border were central to his presidential campaign. The recent appointee, Tom Homan, as Trump’s incoming Border Czar, a man who co-authored Project 2025 and was referred to as “the intellectual father of family separation”,  makes promise for swift and extreme changes to the current immigration system. When asked about his plans for immigration, the former acting head of ICE said there would be “shock and awe”, including mass deportations, an expansion of detention centers, and at the very least, the “consideration” of reinstating family separation. It is important to recognize the potential imminence of the reinstitution of family separation at the border in the coming months.  

HOW YOU CAN HELP
While many government-run detention centers do not allow for donations, many privately-run facilities do. Here is a link that will direct you on how to get involved with helping those seeking asylum including a list of organizations that are accepting donations to assist separated families. 

If you or someone you know needs assistance with detainment or reuniting with a family member, local churches, synagogues, and mosques often have immigration services available that may be free of charge. 

For more information on Biden’s Reunification Task Force and how it may help you, please visit https://www.together.gov/ or https://www.juntos.gov/es. This website provides assistance with the reunification process, support services, and attorneys.

Ending Family Separation
The National Domestic Violence Alliance’s Families Belong Together Campaign working to end family separation all together and seek accountability for the impact family separation has had on immigrant families since 2017. 

In addition, you can reach out to your local representatives and Senators to voice your concerns about family separation and the mistreatment of children at the border. Find your representatives’ phone numbers and Senators’ phone numbers to call and make your voice heard.