The Washington Post is claiming an exclusive on this, reporting that the Trump administration has already instructed the border patrol to stop prosecuting illegals who cross the border with children. That is until ICE can increase their resource capacity so that they can keep families together during prosecution:
Federal authorities will no longer file criminal charges against migrant parents who cross into the United States illegally, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told The Washington Post on Thursday.
The about-face comes just one day after President Trump signed an executive order ending his administration’s widely denounced practice of separating parents and children apprehended for illegally crossing the Mexico border. Trump’s order said the government would maintain a “zero tolerance” policy toward those who break the law, but the senior U.S. official, asked to explain how the government would change enforcement practices, said Border Patrol agents were instructed Wednesday evening to stop sending parents with children to federal courthouses for prosecution.
“We’re suspending prosecutions of adults who are members of family units until ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can accelerate resource capability to allow us to maintain custody,” the official said.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to explain how enforcement operations will change to comply with Trump’s order.
Because ICE lacks the detention capacity to increase the number of families it holds in detention, the official acknowledged that many migrant parents and children will likely be released from custody while they await court hearings.
I know this sounds like a temporary move, but it’s still surprising given the administration’s heavy focus on enforcing immigration law.
My question is this: How long will it take for ICE to get their ducks in a row and increase their capacity? Because it looks like catch and release is new normal until families can be held together during prosecution. Not good!
UPDATE: Apparently the White House doesn’t anything about this?
I'm asking WH officials about WaPo story saying Trump admin stopping zero tolerance policy. They don't know anything about it and were not aware of breaking story.
— Tarini Parti (@tparti) June 21, 2018
And the DOJ says it’s not accurate:
DOJ spox response to when asked about the WaPo story that the administration is suspending prosecutions of migrant parents: "Not accurate"https://t.co/rqAAY1SFP6
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) June 21, 2018
More from DOJ spox: They say "zero tolerance" policy is still in effect and that prosecutors will continue to pursue all illegal entry cases. But cases are referred to DOJ by DHS, we're trying to find out if there's been a change on the DHS/CBP side. Stay tuned.
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) June 21, 2018
More from the DOJ:
The Washington Post never reached out to the Department. Their story is not accurate. There has been no change to the Department’s zero tolerance policy to prosecute adults who cross our border illegally instead of claiming asylum at any port of entry at the border.
— Sarah Isgur Flores (@SarahFloresDOJ) June 21, 2018