The Trump administration is separating 2 children from their families at the border every hour

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 15 June 2018

The Trump administration is separating an average of two children from their families every single hour at the border, MSNBC's David Gura tweeted Friday, using data obtained by The Associated Press. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's statistics show that 1,995 minors have been separated from 1,940 adults in the six-week period between April 19 and May 31 as part of the administration's new "zero tolerance" policy for immigrants illegally trying to enter the U.S., as announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May.

Sessions has defended the administration's policy by citing the Bible, leading frustrated reporters to confront White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday. In addition to the nearly 2,000 children separated at the border, another 35 minors were separated at ports of entry in May and early June, and more than 50 were separated at official designated border crossings in March and April.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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