Eric Gay / AP
The Department of Homeland Security is considering a proposal to separate immigrant mothers and their children who are caught together crossing the US border illegally.
The proposal would be a stark change from current practice, which allows families that are fighting deportation to be released and remain together until their cases are resolved.
The proposed policy, first reported Friday by Reuters, would allow border officials to detain and hold parents in custody while their children are placed into the protective custody of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Immigrant and civil rights groups denounced the proposal, saying the policy would not stand a court challenge like others recently enacted by the Trump administration.
"Separating asylum seeking mothers from their children violates their process rights under the Constitution's Fifth Amendment," Christina Fialho, executive director of Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, told BuzzFeed News.
According to the policy under consideration, children would be put in the "least restrictive setting" while their parents remain in custody, meaning they could be put in the care of a relative in the US or with a state-sponsored guardian.
The policy, Reuters reported, is meant to discourage immigrants from crossing the border with their children in the first place.
But Fialho argued the reasoning is faulty and that policies adopted in the past have shown that detention strategies do not dissuade immigrants who want to enter the US.
"The government has been unable to show empirical evidence that detention deters migration," she said. "Even if the government could, separating children from their parents is dangerous and unconstitutional."
The policy appears to be aimed at Central American immigrants who have, in recent years, made their way into the US, including children. Many of them have been fleeing increased violence in their countries, which some advocates argue would outweigh any detention policies created by the current administration.
"This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding why mothers with children are coming to our country," Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director for the National Immigration Law Center. "These are people fleeing unimaginable conditions. In some cases, they live in neighborhoods where they face likely death."
The policy under review, Essaheb said, is being driven by ideology rather than by evidence of what could resolve immigration issues in the country.
Separating families with connected immigration cases could also be detrimental to their arguments in court, Fialho said, since the cases between parents and children are most likely related.
"Asylum seeking families need to remain together in order to mount a strong asylum case because they often present their claim together," she said. "This blanket policy which deprives families with bona fide asylum claims of their liberty and connectedness in order to send a message would likely be struck down by the courts."
Like other immigration policies that have been adopted via executive orders in the past two months, Essaheb said, the policy being reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security appears similar to that being directed by President Trump's administration.
If it were adopted, he said, the NILC would not hesitate to fight it with "every tool in the tool box."
The policy is one of several changes to immigration the Trump administration has been exploring just weeks after taking the White House.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services told BuzzFeed News he would not speculate about what policies might or might not be under consideration by DHS. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Trump has called for the end of "catch and release," which allows immigrants to remain in the US while they fight their deportation cases in the courts. Other immigration policy changes under review include deporting undocumented immigrants, including those who are not from Mexico, to Mexico while their cases make their way in the courts.
Meanwhile, the White House has called for the hiring of 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents, has continued to push for building a wall along the southern border, and plans to create an office for the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
LINK: Here’s How Trump’s Immigration Orders Are Going To Be Enforced
LINK: President-Elect Trump Vows To Deport 2–3 Million Undocumented Immigrants
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