BORDER/DHS/IMMIGRATION/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy that has resulted in thousands of family separations at the border hasn’t deterred immigrants from trying to enter the country illegally, despite the administration’s predictions that it would, internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by CNN show. The documents, which refer to the effort as the ‘Prosecution Initiative,’ demonstrate that in early April, days after President Donald Trump announced he would send the National Guard to the border and after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his offices would prosecute all illegal crossings referred to the Justice Department, Homeland Security staff predicted that the deterrent effects of the policies would be visible quickly. Instead, publicly released data showed a roughly 5% uptick in the number of people caught crossing the border illegally when compared to figures from April, including a big jump in unaccompanied children. While the documents don’t speak to the conceptualization of the policy or the internal deliberations that preceded it, they call into question the administration’s justification for the policy. The lack of measurable impact on immigration lends weight to questions about the policy’s effectiveness, going beyond moral issues raised by the policy’s critics.”
-Tal Kopan, “Exclusive: Trump admin thought family separations would deter immigrants. They haven’t.,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 18, 2018 12:25 pm