New Trump Policy Appears Designed to Prolong Separation of Mother and Child
**Press Release**
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2018
Contact: Kate Stotesbery
202-225-4865
New Trump Policy Appears Designed to Prolong Separation of Mother and Child
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) is concerned by new reports regarding asylum-seeking mothers whose children were seized from them and who are being detained near Austin, Texas, which indicate that they are being denied release even after successfully showing at a preliminary hearing that they have a "credible fear" of returning to their home countries. While detained, they cannot be reunited with their wrongfully removed children. Congressman Doggett has made the attached official inquiry to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding this apparent new Trump policy that appears designed to prolong separation and offered the following related statement:
"As with many issues, Trump prefers chaos and confusion. The Administration appears to have begun refusing to release mothers even after they have established a well-justified asylum claim. By continuing their detention, Trump ensures that they still cannot be reunited with their wrongfully separated children. Initially through his ‘zero tolerance' policy, then by falsely claiming that he was powerless to end it, followed by the failure of his Executive Order to specify any process or timeline for reunifying families, Trump has shown consistent indifference to the children's best interest. His Administration is apparently ignoring not only the anguished cries of these mothers but also the orders of two federal judges.
"I have sought formal confirmation from ICE of what some of its personnel are saying on the ground in Texas. These immigrants have passed their ‘credible fear interviews,' but all of us as Americans should have credible fear of an Administration that has so little respect for the rule of law and the bonds of mother and child. The ‘zero tolerance' policy that I support is zero tolerance for Trump's bigotry, zero tolerance for his demonization of foreigners, and zero tolerance for caging children."
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