How Child Separation Is Normally Done

The Trump administration’s apparent policy of separating parents and children entering the U.S. without papers—even those seeking asylum—has drawn criticism, and rightly so: It’s transparently cruel and essentially disconnected from any public safety or child welfare purpose. A district court judge has also said such a policy, if it did exist, would be a clear and “brutal” constitutional violation. It’s also a breathtaking departure from the procedural norms that the U.S. legal system has developed over decades for removing children from their parents—a process that state courts treat with a constitutional seriousness akin to criminal cases. As a public defender in Connecticut, I’ve represented parents and children in neglect and abuse cases for almost 10 years, and while the system is far from perfect, the prevailing understanding among all participants—judges, parents’ and children’s lawyers, and the state child welfare agency—is that family separation is the last resort.

More >> How Child Separation Is Normally Done

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