Different Views : Dividing Families at The Border?

- *The American Dossier Editors Note- We welcome and would love for you to talk amongst yourselves on this issue as these 2 articles below offer interesting perspectives.

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A Different Pont of View:

Barack Obama weighs in on family separation

-Source--CNBC

Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday rebuked his successor President Donald Trump's policy of separating children from parents at U.S. borders.

In a lengthy statement, the 44th U.S. president expressed sympathy for people who fled violence in other countries only to see their families broken apart when they reached the U.S. Without mentioning Trump by name, he said, The U.S. needs to show its humanity not only through saying "this isn't who we are" but also "through our policies, our laws, our actions and our votes."

"And to watch those families broken apart in real time puts to us a very simple question: are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents' arms, or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?" Obama asked. "Do we look away, or do we choose to see something of ourselves and our children?"

A bipartisan furor over the Trump administration's practice has erupted in recent days as visuals and audio show crying kids separated from their parents and children sleeping on the floor within cage-like structures. For days, the Trump administration wrongly said it could not revoke the policy without Congress taking action to end the policy — while also passing Trump's desired border security policies.

Then, the president said Wednesday that he will sign a measure to keep families together. House Republicans plan to vote Thursday on a plan that would end the practice while funding Trump's proposed border wall, offering a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children and limiting legal immigration.

Separations of families increased under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which aims to prosecute all adults illegally crossing U.S. borders, including asylum seekers. The administration separated 1,995 children from 1,940 adults from April 19 to May 31 after zero tolerance was announced, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

During Obama's presidency, immigration advocates criticized him for the number of deportations his administration oversaw and its detention of families together. However, the U.S. did not have a widespread family separation policy during Obama's presidency. Read more

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A Different Point of View:

Trump vs. Obama: Two Approaches to Migrant Families and Minors

Source-Breitbart-

Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump were both faced with the issue of unaccompanied minors and family units following the passage of a law by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. The law, intended to curb human smuggling, became a magnet for families and children to the U.S. border.

“The most obvious and direct cause of the flood of children from Central America is the 2008 human trafficking law that ended the rapid deportation of unaccompanied minors who come illegally from countries other than Mexico and Canada,” the Washington Post wrote in July 2014. “The law, which cleared both houses of Congress by unanimous consent and was signed by George W. Bush in his final days in office, was bipartisan and well intentioned — but it was exploited by the very traffickers it was meant to target, who encouraged this huge emigration of children from Central America.”

The Trump Administration could not agree more with the Post’s article.

“Once again it is Congress’s job to change the law. We’re calling on them to do exactly that,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Monday in response to criticism of President Trump’s policies regarding families and minors at the border by former First Lady Laura Bush, Breitbart News’ John Nolte reported.

“And, frankly, this law was actually signed into effect in 2008 under her husband’s leadership, not under this administration,” she added. “We’re not the one’s responsible for creating this problem; we’ve inherited it. But we’re actually the first administration stepping up and trying to fix it.”

The manner in which Presidents Obama and Trump handled what became an overwhelming crisis stands in sharp contrast.

President Obama:

Creates magnet for families and minors with the implementation of the DACA Program.

Expands magnet with the implementation of DAPA for parents.

Keeps news of surging migrant families and minors quiet until June 2014.

Warehouses large numbers of families and minors in overcrowded and unsafe conditions.

Implements “Catch and Release 2.0,” program to release minors and families into U.S. interior.

Prohibits media and congressional leaders from photographing conditions in detention centers.

Orders deployment of National Guard to supplement border security efforts.

President Trump:

Rescinds DAPA program.

Orders end of DACA program and urges Congress to find a permanent solution.

Issues order to stop migrant family “caravans” at the border to prevent overcrowding at shelters.

Issues “zero-tolerance” policy for first-time border crossers.

Orders increased prosecution of repeat border crossers.

Implements policy to remove minors from parents being prosecuted for illegally crossing the border.

Improves the quality of living conditions for detained minors.

Orders deployment of National Guard to supplement border security efforts.

Proposes border walls and fencing to replace decaying infrastructure and increase border security.

Invites media and congressional leaders to tour new family and minors detention and processing centers. Read more

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