There were some very interesting remarks from the DOJ after Trump signed his executive order today.
But before we get to that, here’s a short list of what the new Trump order does from CBS News White House reporter:
WHAT DOES THE ORDER DO?
– Directs DHS to detain families together while parents are prosecuted.
– Orders the DOD to house immigrant families on military posts if needed.
– Instructs DOJ to seek a modification to Flores to allow detention of minors thru parents' criminal cases.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 20, 2018
You can read the entire executive order here. It’s not very long.
After Trump signed the executive order, DOJ official Gene Hamilton told reporters that the Trump administration can only keep families together for up to 20 days, because the Flores settlement still takes precedence:
JUST IN: Senior Justice Department official Gene Hamilton confirms the Flores settlement still controls, and that unless Congress or the court acts, the government can only detain families together for "up to 20 days."
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 20, 2018
Hamilton says it’s up to a federal judge if that 20 days gets extended or not:
DOJ's Gene Hamilton says whether families will be able to stay together for more than 20 days is up to federal district court judge Dolly Gee, in whose court the Flores case sits.
"Are we going to be able to detain alien families together, or are we not?" Hamilton asked.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 20, 2018
"The simple fact of the matter is that Judge Gee has put this executive branch into an untenable position," Hamilton said in a conference call with reporters.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 20, 2018
I’m not sure how long it takes from the time an illegal is arrested to the time they are either deported or allowed to leave, but I’m betting it’s longer than 20 days. Which means, if Hamilton is correct, that these families would then be separated at the 20-day mark unless this judge intervenes.
Which also means in the end Trump’s executive order really doesn’t do very much. But that’s not surprising since we know Trump really is bound by the law. This is why his executive order also called instructed the “DOJ to seek a modification to Flores to allow detention of minors thru parents’ criminal cases”.
The other solution is that a fix must come from Congress, but it’s doubtful Democrats will ever agree to that considering they want to ride their anti-Trump wave to election day.
As for the children who are currently separated from their families…
On a conference call with reporters, DOJ official Gene Hamilton was unable to explain how the order might impact the 2,342 children who were taken from their parents/guardians between May 5th and June 9th.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 20, 2018
An HHS official tells @weijia that there will NOT be special efforts made to reunite children who have already been separated from their families bc of the Zero Tolerance Policy, despite Trumps EO. Process will proceed for minors currently in the unaccompanied children program.
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) June 20, 2018
UPDATE:
HHS takes back what it said…
The Department of Health and Human Services walks back comments that a spokesperson made earlier about the reunification of families separated at the border, saying further guidance is needed https://t.co/fbOsc5MFnE pic.twitter.com/RkO0EWhoQy
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 21, 2018
UPDATE:
It appears some help is on the way to deal with all the immigration cases (via Axios):
Defense Secretary James Mattis has approved a Justice Department request to send 21 active-duty military lawyers to the southern border, the Pentagon confirmed to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Wednesday night.
The details: The DOJ wants the active-duty Judge Advocate Generals (JAGs) sent to six cities in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to work as prosecutors for roughly six months on cases regarding illegal immigrants. The decision comes in the heat of the battle over the Trump administration’s application of a “zero-tolerance” policy to illegal border crossings, which refers all adults crossing illegally to the DOJ for criminal prosecution.