In March, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, then secretary of homeland security, publicly floated separating parents seeking asylum at the U.S. border from their children and detaining them in separate facilities, as a punitive way to deter illegal immigration from violence-torn Central America. The plan was shelved after a public backlash and amid low immigration numbers, which the White House credited to the "Trump effect," or deterrence through aggressive arrests and tough talk.
Now, the number of immigrants arrested crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is rising — to 29,086 in November, including 7,018 families, from 11,677 apprehensions in April — and the policy of splitting up families is back, approved by the White House and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and awaiting approval by Kelly's successor, new DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, The Washington Post and The New York Times report. It is still controversial, even among some immigration hardliners at DHS, but the idea has support in the Trump administration. "People aren't going to stop coming unless there are consequences to illegal entry," a DHS official tells the Post.
Even without a formal policy, at least 150 familes have been split up this year, the Times reports, citing the case of José Fuentes, a Salvadoran who presented himself to immigration officials at the border with his 1-year-old son, Mateo, saying they feared death from rampant gang violence. Fuentes was sent to California and his son housed in Texas. For six days, Fuentes and his wife, Olivia Acevedo, who is in Mexico with their other son, didn't know where Mateo was.
ICE spokeswoman Liz Johnson told the Times that Mateo was separated from his dad "out of concern for the child's safety and security" because Fuentes did not have sufficient proof he was Mateo's father. Acevado said she was finally able to see Mateo last week in a five-minute video call, and he cried the entire call. "It's a form of torture," she said. Peter Weber
President Trump's campaign may be calling her "Phony Kamala" now, but Trump once liked Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) enough to twice donate to her re-election campaign for California attorney general.
The Sacramento Bee first reported the donations in 2019, but they are receiving renewed interest now that former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has chosen Harris to be his running mate.
Before she became a senator, Harris was attorney general of California; she was first elected in 2010, and was re-elected four years later. Trump made two donations to Harris' re-election campaign — $5,000 in 2011 and $1,000 in 2013. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, also gave Harris $2,000 in 2014.
A spokesperson for Harris' campaign previously told McClatchy that in 2015, Harris donated the $6,000 she received from Trump to a nonprofit organization that advocates for civil and human rights for Central Americans. Catherine Garcia
History has its eyes on Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) — in more ways than one.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, announced Harris as his pick to hold the position he once held under former president Barack Obama on Tuesday.
The former California attorney general is rightly being recognized as the first Black woman to sit on a major political party's national ticket, but the historic nature of Harris' position contains multitudes.
To start, Harris is the first person with Indian heritage to run on a national presidential ticket. Her late mother was born in India, and Harris has credited her maternal grandfather, a former Indian diplomat, with helping her to appreciate the "importance of democracy and a government that represents the people — all the people,” Politico reports.
Harris's nomination also marks the first time a major nominee has graduated from an HBCU, a.k.a Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986, receiving her B.A. after studying political science and economics.
Howard University president Wayne A.I. Frederick released a statement saying the senator's nomination "represents a milestone opportunity for our democracy to acknowledge the leadership Black women have always exhibited, but has too often been ignored.”
Harris went on to attend the University of California, Hastings where she received her J.D., making her the first person to sit on the Democratic ticket in over 35 years who did not attend an Ivy League school.
If Harris and Biden succeed in ousting President Trump from office, Harris will also hold the honor of being the first female and the first Asian American to be elected to national office, but we'll save that conversation for another day. Marianne Dodson
Joe Biden just announced his running mate choice: Sen. Kamala Harris of California. That means Harris, if she can govern well, could be the leader of both the Democratic Party and the country through 2030. If she can't, she might well be the last democratically-elected vice president in American history.
Biden is the heavy favorite against Trump this year. Given his age and his track record of working closely with President Obama when he was vice president, Harris will presumably play a significant role in major governing decisions. It's unpopular for the media to talk about, but there's a decent chance she would need to step in before Biden's term is up. What's more, there is a reasonable chance that Biden would choose not to run for re-election in 2024. If so, Harris would be the overwhelming favorite to run in his place.
The stakes could hardly be higher. Donald Trump is blatantly trying to steal the 2020 election, and the next Republican candidate will very likely try the same trick. A Biden administration would have four years, and perhaps another four or eight under a Harris administration, to address the pandemic, rebuild the shattered economy and federal government, root out Trump's gangrenous corruption, and fortify America's democratic institutions. If Biden and Harris instead muddle through letting everything fester, as happened under the Obama administration, the next would-be authoritarian probably won't be as incompetent as Trump. Let's hope they seize the moment. Ryan Cooper