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When the Trump administration, in May, embarked on its “zero tolerance” imbroglio, ensuring that toddlers, tween s and teens would be removed from their parents, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly was asked by NPR whether the policy might be heartless. “I wouldn’t put it quite that way,” Mr. Kelly replied soothingly. “The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever.” Whatever. (7/16)

By characterizing domestic violence as “private criminal activity,” even when the police can’t prevent or stop it, Attorney General Jeff Sessions apparently intends to bar the victims from winning asylum. Under two court orders, the government is now reuniting migrant children with their mothers. Although the California court that ordered the reunification may permit continued detention of the families until their asylum claims can be decided, something worse than separation or detention awaits those mothers who are deported: rape and death. Many of the mothers and children who previously could have won asylum will now be sent back to Central America, where they face horrific violence at the hands of the brutal gangs from which they fled. That risk is now very great because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently changed policy that had allowed immigration judges to grant asylum to victims of domestic violence. (Philip G. Schrag, 7/16)

I teach and practice immigration law, and I am a mother. My teenage sons are my life, and they still need their mom to protect them. I am sick with worry when I think of the risks they face in adolescence. With more reason, moms and dads fleeing the violence raging in Central America are also frantically worried about the danger their children face in their home countries. They want to provide love and safety to their babies, toddlers and teens in the United States. Instead, they face forcible family separations and imprisonment at the hands of the U.S. government. The administration has sought to erase our commonality with asylum-seeking families, calling them invaders and frauds. Americans across the political spectrum have recoiled from this cruelty.  (Denise Gilman, 7/17)

It is common to hear ‘History repeats itself’ and unfortunately I see it happening in the area of immigration. After separating many children from their parents at our nation’s borders the government seems to be solely focused on reunification. While that is an important part of the process it will never make families whole. Children separated from their parents not only face a mental health crisis now but will for years to come. This is an area where the past can help us understand present conditions. (Teresa Holtrop, 7/16)