The US is considering splitting children up from parents who are caught trying to enter the country illegally. Tens of thousands of families from Central America have been detained at the Mexican border in recent years.
Image: Getty Images/J. Moore
Advertisement
US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told broadcaster CNN the plan would be part of a broader effort to discourage families from taking the dangerous route to the US border.
"I would do almost anything to deter the people from Central America getting on this very, very dangerous network ... going through Mexico," Kelly said.
Under current rules, families are detained at the border before being released into the United States to wait for an immigration judge to decide their fate. Kelly said a new initiative could instead see children being turned over to the Health and Human Services department, where they could be put in foster care or linked up with relatives in the US.
"In order to deter more movement along this terribly dangerous network, I am considering exactly that," he said. "They will be well-cared for as we deal with their parents."
Central Americans fleeing violence
Homeland Security officials have been struggling to curb the flow of children and families at the Mexican border since 2014, when there was a huge spike in attempted crossings by people fleeing violence in countries such as Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Trump signs a revised executive order imposing temporary bans on people from six Muslim-majority countriesImage: Reuters/C. Barria
New immigration guidelines dramatically expand US deportation powers
00:44
This browser does not support the video element.
In response, the Obama administration opened multiple detention centers to house families while judges processed their cases. But a federal court in California later ruled that the practice violated a long-standing agreement that bars the government from detaining children in a jail-like setting, even if they are with their parents. The decision prompted the government to start releasing families into the US.
Leon Fresco, a former Justice Department official, said the Obama administration had also been considering separating children from parents since that court ruling.
Tough on border security
Border security and immigration were major issues in President Donald Trump's election campaign last year. He has pledged to build a "great big wall" on the border with Mexico and launched sweeps across the country to round up undocumented immigrants.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order banning refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. It freezes refugee admissions for 120 days and halts new visas for Syrians, Iranians, Libyans, Somalis, Yemenis and Sudanese citizens for 90 days.
nm/tj (AP, AFP, dpa)
The 'huge' walls of the world
US President Donald Trump has ordered the start of the construction of a wall along the US border with Mexico. The promised wall would dwarf many massive –and very expensive – walls around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
"We are going to build a wall"
The border wall with Mexico was the signature promise of now President Donald Trump's election campaign, standing out from the storm of controversial and often contradictory campaign statements. Once elected, Trump quickly set the wheels in motion by ordering the construction to start. Experiences from around the world, however, show that massive barriers do not come easy - or cheap.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Stern
"…and Mexico is going to pay for it."
The so-called "Tortilla Wall" already spans some 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) of the US-Mexico border. Experts believe that the US would need to pay between $15 billion and $25 billion in order to fully wall-off the entire southern frontier. US President Trump has said it would cost less and that Mexico would foot the bill.
Image: dpa
Wall of fear in Jerusalem
Israel started building its own controversial barrier in 2002, with construction continuing to this day. The structure is expected to stretch at least 650 kilometers (403 miles) across the Holy Land, most of it consisting of an electric wire fence. Observers believe its cost has already topped $2.6 billion (2.4 billion euros), with maintenance costs reaching $260 million per year.
Image: picture-alliance/Landov
The symbol of divided city
The Berlin Wall spanned 155 kilometers (91 miles) before its demolition in 1991. Unlike the many other walls across the world, the barrier was built by East Germany to keep the would-be emigrants inside the country. It cost about $25 million to build in 1961, equivalent to $200 million (almost 186.5 million euros) in present-day money.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
The Korean DMZ - the most fortified border in the world
Capitalist South Korea and its Communist northern neighbor are divided by barbed wire and watchtowers, as well as around 1 million landmines. Following the 1953 truce, both Pyongyang and Seoul agreed to pull their troops 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) away inland, creating a demilitarized zone along the border that stretches 248 kilometers (154 miles).
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
'Peace lines' run through Belfast
A total of 48 "peace lines" separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast, a legacy of centuries-long religious war. The barriers including high brick walls, concrete structures, barb wire and metal bars. These barricades include gates to allow for circulation of people and traffic, but the gates close after nightfall.
