Anaya Nolan
There is no federal law that mandates the separation of children from parents who cross the border illegally. However, in 1996, President Bill Clinton signed an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, which led to increased criminal penalties for those entering the country illegally and an increase in deportations. This caused the separation of some immigrant families living in the U.S., but it did not mandate the separation of children from their parents. In 2018, the Trump administration implemented a zero-tolerance policy, which resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families. This policy was ended in June 2018, but some family separations have continued.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Did Clinton create the law that separates children and parents? | No |
| Who introduced the policy of separating children from parents? | Trump administration |
| Who was blamed for the policy? | Obama administration |
| What was the policy called? | Zero-tolerance policy |
| Who instituted the zero-tolerance policy? | Attorney General Jeff Sessions |
| What was the result of the zero-tolerance policy? | Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their parents |
| What is the Flores Settlement law? | Unaccompanied minors should be released to their parents, a legal guardian, or an adult relative |
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What You'll Learn
Clinton's 1996 immigration crackdown
There is no federal law that mandates the separation of children and parents at the US border, regardless of how they entered the country. Claims that President Bill Clinton passed such a law in 1996 are false. However, Clinton did sign immigration legislation in 1996 that led to increased criminal penalties for those entering the country illegally, as well as increased deportations.
The 1996 laws, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), were passed by a Republican-majority Congress amid a wave of anti-crime legislation under the Clinton administration. They reflected a bipartisan focus in Washington to "get tough on crime". The laws expanded the types of crimes that qualified as "deportable offences" to a wide range of state-level crimes, including many non-violent offences such as theft and tax fraud. They also imposed strict rules for mandatory detention and deportation, which limited access to court reviews. Even if not deported, green-card holders and undocumented immigrants with criminal records could be barred from adjusting their status to legal residence or citizenship in the future.
The 1996 laws also had retroactive effects, allowing for the expulsion of those deemed "undesirable" immigrants with past criminal convictions. The legislation also restricted the number of people who could avoid deportation each year, which caused the separation of some immigrant families living in the US. However, the law was later softened to accommodate Central American immigrants.
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The Flores Settlement
It is a common misconception that former US President Bill Clinton passed a law in 1996 or 1997 that separates parents and children entering the US illegally. This claim is false. There is no law that requires parents and children to be separated if they are entering the country illegally.
The 1996 legislation that Clinton signed did lead to increased criminal penalties for those entering the country without legal permission, as well as increased deportations. This resulted in the separation of some immigrant families living in the US. However, the law did not mandate the separation of children from their parents.
In 1997, Clinton signed the Flores Settlement Agreement, which was a court agreement between advocates for unaccompanied minors detained by immigration authorities and the Justice Department. This agreement mandated that unaccompanied minors be placed in the least restrictive setting while awaiting an immigration hearing. It also required that these minors be released to their parents, a legal guardian, or an adult relative. If no relatives were available, the relevant government agency could appoint a suitable adult to care for the child. The Flores Settlement did not recommend separating families.
The increase in child detainees separated from their parents resulted directly from a change in enforcement policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April and May 2018. This "zero-tolerance" policy saw adults attempting to cross the border being placed in custody and facing criminal prosecution for illegal entry. This resulted in hundreds of minors being housed in detention centres away from their parents. While the Trump administration officially ended this practice in June 2018, some family separations have continued, with children reportedly being kept in appalling conditions.
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Obama's enforcement
It is a common misconception that President Bill Clinton passed a law in 1996 or 1997 that separated parents and children entering the U.S. illegally. While Clinton did sign a bill that led to increased criminal penalties for those entering the country illegally and increased deportations, there was no law that required parents and children to be separated.
Now, onto Obama's enforcement.
During his presidency, Barack Obama did not have a family separation policy. However, it is important to note that there were still instances of family separation during his administration. This was due to the "zero-tolerance" policy implemented by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April 2018, which resulted in adults being criminally prosecuted for attempting to enter the country illegally, leading to the separation of families. The Obama administration complied with court orders regarding the detention of minors and took into account the interests of parents, only separating families in rare cases when the child's safety was in question or the adult had a prior criminal conviction.
While there were family separations during the Obama era, the scale and systematic nature of family separations under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy were significantly greater. Trump's policy was specifically designed to deter migrants from entering the US, and there were reports of children being removed from their families without proper documentation to track them for reunification. Trump himself has repeatedly blamed the Obama administration for instituting a family separation policy, even claiming that he was the one who stopped it, which is not true.
In summary, while there were instances of family separations during the Obama administration, there was no explicit family separation policy in place. The Obama administration operated under the same immigration laws as the Trump administration, and the increased family separations were a result of the latter's "zero-tolerance" approach.
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Trump's zero-tolerance policy
There is no federal law that stipulates that children and parents be separated at the border, regardless of how families entered the United States. However, in April 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new "zero-tolerance" policy, which resulted in children being separated from their parents, who were taken into custody for criminal prosecution. This policy directed US attorneys' offices along the southwest border to accept for criminal prosecution all cases involving illegal entry.
The Trump administration repeatedly emphasised that there was no "blanket policy" to separate families as a way to deter others. Instead, they claimed that family separation was a consequence of the "zero-tolerance" policy, combined with a federal court action limiting the detention of children. The government's position was that the prosecutions required parents to serve time in criminal custody, and due to rules on holding children in detention, separations were the logical result.
This policy resulted in nearly 3,000 children being separated from their parents before President Trump signed an executive order on June 20, 2018, halting family separation. The Trump administration has been unwilling to take responsibility for the policy of family separations because of the political optics. Instead, Trump has blamed the Obama administration for instituting a policy in which children were separated from their parents at the border, a claim that has been deemed false.
While it is true that immigration reforms passed under President Bill Clinton in 1996 toughened illegal immigration penalties and quickened the pace of deportations, the legislation did not explicitly call for the separation of children from their parents. Similarly, while a surge of families arrived at the US-Mexico border during Obama's presidency, only a minuscule number of children were removed from their parents in rare cases, such as a parent being arrested on a drug charge.
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No federal law mandating separation
Several sources, including AP News, snopes, and PolitiFact, confirm that there is no federal law mandating the separation of children from their parents at the border, no matter how families entered the United States.
In 2018, the Trump administration implemented a zero-tolerance policy at the southern border, resulting in the separation of children from their parents, who were taken into custody for criminal prosecution. This policy was ended by an executive order from Trump in June 2020.
While there is no federal law mandating the separation of families, there have been instances where children have been separated from their parents due to "loopholes" in the court order. This has occurred when parents have a criminal conviction, a disease, or when the accompanying adult is not the child's parent.
In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, which toughened penalties and increased deportations. However, experts state that this legislation did not include provisions mandating the separation of families. The biggest change regarding families was the deportation of immigrants who were once legally in the US but became subject to deportation due to a criminal conviction.
In 1997, Clinton also signed the Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandated that unaccompanied minors be placed in the least restrictive setting while awaiting an immigration hearing. This agreement did not recommend separating families.
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Frequently asked questions
No, there is no federal law that stipulates that children and parents be separated at the border, no matter how families entered the United States. While Clinton did sign an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration in 1996, it did not mandate the separation of families.
The 1996 law toughened illegal immigration penalties and quickened the pace of deportations. It did not, however, require a zero-tolerance policy that would prosecute all noncitizens crossing the border in violation of immigration law.
While the Obama administration did not have a child separation policy, a "minuscule" number of children were removed from their parents in rare cases, such as a parent being arrested on a drug charge.
