Avi K,
“Avram, it is a crime to try and enter the US illegally. See The Truth about Separating Kids By Rich Lowry in National review.”
The article was well written, but quite misleading.
1. There have been numerous cases of migrants being deported swiftly after prosecution for illegal entry while their children continue to be detained in the US by HHS, so the claim that kids are returned to their parents quickly if they leave the country is false. The National Review piece uses clever weasel words, “the adult should be reunited quickly with his or her child” … “in this scenario, there’s only a very brief separation”, but “should be” does not mean “is”, and “in this [hypothetical] scenario” does not mean reality. Not to mention that the very detrimental psychological impacts of detaining young children are completely whitewashed.
2. The dip (not dry-up) in migrant apprehensions at the start of the Trump presidency says nothing about the motivations of the migrants, but rather their fear of the potential new policies. Migrants are not required to seek asylum in the first country to which they arrive – the US only has an agreement with Canada in this regard because the two countries have similar asylum apparatuses. Mexico’s asylum apparatus is much smaller – many applicants are turned away – and there are reports of human rights abuses within the system. Furthermore, many asylum seekers are not safe in Mexico. And as for the ideal way to seek asylum in the US, many asylum seekers are turned away at official U.S. ports of entry. Legally, one cannot request asylum unless they are physically inside the U.S., so if turned away at a legal point of entry, what recourse is there to get your asylum claim in?
3. Implying that the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy is a must because some people attempt fraud, or there is a limited amount of resources, is a false dilemma. Previous administrations prioritized the deportations of fraudsters, criminals, smugglers, etc. Furthermore, if you’re worried about asylum seekers “disappearing” into the U.S., resources can be used to better monitor them. As for the law and order moral argument – tens of thousands of Americans are killed each year in traffic accidents, and speeding is a contributing factor to many of these deaths. Should adults given speeding citations (also a misdemeanor) be detained, and their kids sent to shelters until they can be placed with relatives?