Trump Policy Separates Immigrant Mother From American Daughter

Thousands of children separated from their families by immigration officials at the U.S.-Mexico border have been reunited with their undocumented parents following a federal judge’s order this summer, but dozens are caught in a legal loophole due to their American citizenship, the New York Times reports. A combination of legal rulings and Trump administration policies have resulted in 50 or more American-citizen minors being separated from their undocumented parents, with no legal consensus as to when—or even whether—they might be reunited with their families. The children are currently placed in foster care with unrelated American citizens, while their parents fight removal proceedings. “It is entirely possible that the court could terminate parental rights should the mother be deported or not released from detention,” Michelle Brané, director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission, told the Times about Vilma Carrillo, a Guatemalan migrant whose 11-year-old U.S.-born daughter is currently held in foster care. The pair have been separated for six months. “Vilma presumed the fact that her daughter is an American citizen would protect them. Instead, she is in a gray zone that could result in her losing Yeisvi,” Shana Tabak, executive director of the Tahirih Justice Center nonprofit, told the Times.

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