From TIME authored by Alix Langone:
“Nearly 2,000 migrant children have been separated from their parents at the border as part of the Trump administration’s controversial “zero-tolerance” policy on border crossings — and many people are still looking for ways to help the families, even as the White House acted to adjust that policy on Wednesday.
President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday reversing his stance on family separation in response to the growing outrage over the thousands of migrant children being split from their parents while trying to cross the border.
Although the executive order says a zero-tolerance policy will still be enforced — meaning that anyone caught crossing the border is still subject to criminal proceedings — the order says families will be kept intact.
“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 reads. The only exception is if a family member is deemed a threat to a child’s welfare.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions started the crackdown when he announced in May that people caught illegally crossing would face criminal prosecution, which, until Trump’s executive order on Wednesday, had required that children be held separately. At least 1,995 children have been separated from 1,940 adults from April 19 through May 31, according to recent numbers released by the Department of Homeland Security.
The policy has drawn criticism from congressional Democrats, Republicans including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Susan Collins, as well as civil rights groups and some celebrities.”
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