Separated migrant families stuck in "legal limbo"

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     February 27, 2024 Donald Trump's “zero tolerance” immigration policy may be dead and gone, but the nightmare isn't over for thousands of migrants separated from their loved ones. Before its end three years ago, the stringent 2018 policy resulted in the separation of at least 5,000 children from their families, with no plan to aid the reunification process. Six years later, families are still struggling to reunite while fighting to gain asylum and stay in the United States. As my colleague Isabela Dias [wrote](: In 2021, President Joe Biden took office, formally rescinded “zero tolerance,” and installed a reunification task force under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since then, a number of impacted parents and families separated between 2017 and January 20, 2021, have been temporarily allowed to return to the United States for three years through a discretionary program known as parole. But the months and, in some cases, years of separation have taken a toll. “A lot of children who were separated felt abandoned by their parents and so there was resentment when they reunited,” says Nan Schivone, the legal director of Justice in Motion. “We worked on cases where children didn’t recognize their parents when they were returned to them.” And to make matters worse, Trump has promised that if he gains the presidency, he’ll implement an even harsher version of his anti-immigration policy, [reportedly]( giving this quote in a November Univision appearance: "It stopped people from coming by the hundreds of thousands because when they hear 'family separation,' they say, 'Well, we better not go.' And they didn't go.” Time will tell who wins the upcoming presidential election, but we already know who Trump is. —Arianna Coghill Advertisement [Fighting Mad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Migrant Families Separated Under Trump Are Still in Legal Limbo]( No longer in front-page headlines, thousands impacted by the “zero tolerance” policy have a long road ahead to stay in the United States. BY ISABELA DIAS [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Trending] [Study: Reforestation has protected Eastern states from temperature rise]( BY OLIVER MILMAN   [Watch Poland debunk Putin's propaganda with this powerful UN speech]( BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN   [SNL put Donald Trump's party of bootlickers on blast]( BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN   [Producers of "forever chemicals" knew they were toxic, say UN experts]( BY JAMES BRUGGERS Advertisement [Fighting Mad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [She’s a prophet. She’s a theocrat. She’s the most powerful lobbyist you’ve never heard of.]( The Christian far right has a road map—and one woman’s at the wheel. BY EMILY HOFSTAEDTER Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755