In this photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a U.S. Border Patrol agent watches as people who’ve been taken into custody related to cases of illegal entry into the United States, stand in line at a facility in McAllen, Texas, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Rio Grande Valley Sector via AP)
The director of US border control announced Monday that migrant parents crossing the US border from Mexico illegally would no longer be referred for prosecution, suspending a key element of the infamous “zero tolerance policy”.
US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan made an announcement on Monday that he had stopped referring parents for prosecution shortly after President Donald Trump had signed the executive order last week. The executive order had ended the policy of separating children from their parents who had entered the US illegally.
However, McAleenan said that the policy remains in effect. Single adults crossing the border illegally would be referred for prosecution and children would be separated if the child is in danger or if the adult has a criminal record.
Following Trump’s order, the key element stood suspended from the policy as his agency did not have the detention space for all the families crossing the border.
White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders backed the reason as well and said, “We’re not changing the policy. We’re simply out of resources.”
The first immigration law drew immense attention when people crossing the US border illegally were detained and children were separated from their families and placed in separate detention facilities.