Trump administration considering separating women, children after illegal border crossings

Women and children crossingtogether illegally into the United States could be separated byU.S. authorities under a proposal being considered by the U.S.Department of Homeland Security, according to three governmentofficials.

Part of the reason for the proposal is to deter mothers frommigrating to the United States with their children, said theofficials, who have been briefed on the proposal.

The policy shift would allow the government to keep parentsin custody while they contest deportation or wait for asylumhearings. Children would be put into protective custody with theDepartment of Health and Human Services, in the "leastrestrictive setting" until they can be taken into the care of aU.S. relative or state-sponsored guardian.

Currently, families contesting deportation or applying forasylum are generally released from detention quickly and allowedto remain in the United States until their cases are resolved. Afederal appeals court ruling bars prolonged child detention.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for ending "catch andrelease," in which migrants who cross illegally are freed tolive in the United States while awaiting legal proceedings.

Two of the officials were briefed on the proposal at a Feb.2 town hall for asylum officers by U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services asylum chief John Lafferty.

A third DHS official said the department is activelyconsidering separating women from their children but has notmade a decision.

HHS and the White House did not respond to requests forcomment.

In a statement to Reuters, DHS said: "The journey north is adangerous one with too many situations where children - broughtby parents, relatives or smugglers - are often exploited, abused
or may even lose their lives.

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"With safety in mind, the Department of Homeland Securitycontinually explores options that may discourage those from evenbeginning the journey," the statement said.

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat whosedistrict includes about 320 kilometresof the border withMexico, slammed the proposal. "Bottom line: separating mothersand children is wrong," he said in a statement.

"That type of thing is where we depart from border securityand get into violating human rights," he said.

About 54,000 children and their guardians were apprehendedbetween Oct. 1, 2016, and Jan. 31, 2017, more than double thenumber caught over the same time period a year earlier.

Republicans in Congress have argued women are willing torisk the dangerous journey with their children because they areassured they will be quickly released from detention and given
court dates set years into the future.

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Immigrant rights advocates have argued that CentralAmerica's violent and impoverished conditions force mothers toimmigrate to the United States and that they should be givenasylum status.

Predictionof legal challenges

Implementing the new policy proposal "could create lifelongpsychological trauma," said Marielena Hincapie, executivedirector at the National Immigration Law Center. "Especially forchildren that have just completed a perilous journey fromCentral America."

Hincapie said the U.S. government is likely to face legalchallenges based on immigration and family law if they decide toimplement the policy.

The policy would allow DHS to detain parents while complyingwith a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order from July 2016that immigrant children should be released from detention asquickly as possible. That order said their parents were notrequired to be freed.

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To comply with that order, the Obama administrationimplemented a policy of holding women and children at familydetention centresfor no more than 21 days before releasingthem.

Holding mothers in prolonged detention could also straingovernment resources, said Randy Capps of the Migration PolicyInstitute, a Washington-based non-profit.

"You are talking about a pretty rapid increase in thedetention population if you are going to do this," Capps said."The question is really how much detention can they afford."

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly lastweek ordered immigration agents to deport or criminallyprosecute parents who facilitate the illegal smuggling of their
children.

Many parents who arrive on the U.S.-Mexico border with theirchildren have paid smugglers to guide them across the dangerousterrain.