Jul 3, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Migrant parents given option of deportation without their kids

Stef W. Kight

Protestors with one holding a sign that says "Seeking asylum is not illegal" — Photo: Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The almost 2,000 migrant parents who have been separated from their children are being given an ultimatum from the Trump administration: Reunite with your kids and be deported as a family, or be deported without them, according to an immigration form obtained by NBC News' Julia Ainsley and Jacob Soboroff.

Yes, but: This form is only given to parents who have received removal orders, and does not prevent them from applying for asylum, a Department of Homeland Security official told Axios.

As it stands, if parents are being held in detention — whether or not they've applied for asylum — they cannot be reunited with their children except for deportation. If a parent has applied for asylum, and has been granted release until their hearing, they are then able to work toward being reunited with their children.

An SPLC Attorney told CNN's Nick Valencia that many of the migrant parents "are being pressured to sign this before they’ve even seen a judge, and despite not having a final order of removal.”
Families who have been caught crossing the border since Trump's executive order are being held in detention together, indefinitely, making them less likely to have been separated.
This comes amid other reports that the Trump administration is planning to block anyone who crosses the border illegally from being granted asylum.

Add Axios on Google

Migrant parents given option of deportation without their kids

What to read next