Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

To "Deter Movement" at Border, Homeland Security Wants to Leverage the Kids

To "Deter Movement" at Border, Homeland Security Wants to Leverage the Kids
John Kelly speaks with Wolf Blitzer. (CNN)

The Department of Homeland Security is considering separating children from their parents at the border, DHS Secretary John Kelly said Monday. The move is part of a broader effort to deter the exploitation of children and to discourage families from making the trek from Mexico across the U.S. border. Currently, families contesting deportation or applying for asylum are generally released from detention quickly, and able to stay in the country, pending disposition of their cases.

"We have tremendous experience of dealing with unaccompanied minors," Kelly told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room. "We turn them over to [Health and Human Services] and they do a very, very good job of putting them in foster care or linking them up with parents or family members in the United States... Yes I'm considering [that], in order to deter more movement along this terribly dangerous network. I am considering exactly that. They will be well cared for as we deal with their parents. ... It's more important to me, Wolf, to try to keep people off of this awful network."


Earlier this week, a senior DHS official confirmed to CNN that the Department would consider implementing the policy. "We are trying to find ways to deter the use of children in illegal immigration," he said at the time. "We are seeing kids essentially kidnapped and used to get here and stay." Children are being exploited in numerous ways, the official added, citing parents taking them on dangerous journeys and smugglers and non-parents who claim the children as their own in bids to enter and stay in the United States.

In a statement to CNN, DHS spokesman David Lapan expressed similar concerns, saying the agency "continually explores options that may discourage those from even beginning the journey." The "journey north is a dangerous one," he said, "with too many situations where children -- brought by parents, relatives or smugglers -- are often exploited, abused or may even lose their lives."

The statement received a harsh rebuke from Representative Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) whose district includes about 200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. "Bottom line: separating mothers and children is wrong," he said. "That type of thing is where we depart from border security and get into violating human rights."

According to Leon Fresco, who led the Office of Immigration Ligation under President Barack Obama, the previous administration considered, but ultimately rejected, the move. "It was never implemented because the idea was that it was too detrimental to the safety of the children to separate them from their parents, and the thinking was it was always preferable to detain the family as a unit or release the family as the unit," Fresco said.

Fresco added that the ruling in Flores v. Lynch also factored into the administration's decision. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that detaining children violated a long-standing agreement that bars the government from detaining children in a jail-like setting, even if they are accompanied by their parents. Immigration officials apprehended 54,000 children and their guardians between Oct. 1, 2016, and Jan. 31, 2017, more than double the number caught over the same time period a year earlier, according to one report.

More from News

Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Lauren Boebert speaking to Alex Stein
Prime Time with Alex Stein/Blaze Media

Lauren Boebert Casts Doubt On Moon Landing During Wild Interview With Conspiracy Theorist

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was criticized after she seemingly agreed with the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked in a wide-ranging interview with conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Stein.

The segment began with the duo casting doubt on nuclear weapons—Boebert even joked about needing "tin foil"—and moved into weirder territory when Stein praised Boebert for "vibing" with him on the topic of the moon landing. Conspiracy theorists have long alleged the moon landing was fabricated by NASA in what they claim was an elaborate hoax.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rosie O'Donnell; Oprah Winfrey
Simon Ackerman/Getty Images; Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images

Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out Oprah For Attending Jeff Bezos' Wedding In Scathing Poem

Among the various celebrity hangers-on who attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Venice wedding, the one that seemed to generate the most controversy was Oprah Winfrey.

After all, a woman known for her progressive politics whose entire ethos is about teaching people how to be their best selves, attending the wedding of man who directly funded a fascist regime dismantling our country before our eyes doesn't exactly add up.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Murkowski
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski Slammed After Criticizing Massive Budget Bill She Just Voted For

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was slammed after she claimed that President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is "not there yet" despite casting the deciding vote to narrowly pass it before sending it back to the House.

In a marathon voting session, the Senate narrowly passed the legislation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman listening to her boyfriend play guitar
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Things People Initially Found Attractive About Their Partner That Now Annoy Them

Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it's not without its ups and downs.

In order for it to work, we have to allow it to grow and change over time rather than being locked forever into what it was when we first started dating our person.

Keep ReadingShow less