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Migrant Children At The Border

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In this April 29, 2018 file photo, a member of the Central American migrant caravan, holding a child, looks through the border wall toward a group of people gathered on the U.S. side, as he stands on the beach where the border wall ends in the ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, April 29, 2018 (AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musielik, File)
In this April 29, 2018 file photo, a member of the Central American migrant caravan, holding a child, looks through the border wall toward a group of people gathered on the U.S. side, as he stands on the beach where the border wall ends in the ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, April 29, 2018 (AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musielik, File)

With Jane Clayson

Did the U.S. really lose some 1500 migrant children? We’ll look at that and the administration’s new policy on separating families.

Guests:

Alan Gomez, immigration reporter for USA Today. (@alangomez)

Jessica Vaughan, director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. (@JessicaV_CIS)

Alex Mensing, project coordinator with Pueblo Sin Fronteras, an immigrant rights group that supports Central American migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. (@alex_mensing)

From The Reading List:

USA Today: Trump blames Democrats for how his administration handles separated immigrant children” — "The administration officials blamed Democrats for creating the 'loopholes' that allow illegal immigration to continue and force them to separate children from their parents. But Republicans, and the Supreme Court, all played a part in creating that system.

The officials cited four main reasons for the current system. The first, a 1997 settlement agreement that limits to 20 days how long undocumented families can be held in detention, was brokered by the Clinton Justice Department.

But the second, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, was unanimously passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush.

The third was a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that ended the practice of indefinite detentions for undocumented immigrants facing deportation whose home countries would not accept them.

And the fourth was generally described as the asylum laws of the U.S., a practice that goes back decades and includes international agreements dating back to the 1950s. The current asylum system in the U.S. was enshrined in the Refugee Act of 1980, which was sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and approved by the GOP-controlled House and Senate."

President Trump calls MS-13 gang members “animals.” He blames Democrats for the latest influx of migrants. His new “zero tolerance” immigration policy is splitting up hundreds of migrant families at the border. All this amid headlines that the government “lost” track of 1500 migrant children. There’s a lot happening at the southern border.

This hour, On Point: We’re untangling these stories. Plus, the fallout from Roseanne Barr’s tweeting.

- Jane Clayson

This program aired on May 30, 2018.

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