Republican vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance has left the door open to the possibility of reintroducing family separations if he and former president Donald Trump win the 2024 election.
Vance’s refusal to rule out the controversial policy has brought the issue of family separations back into the political spotlight as immigration remains a key focus of the Trump campaign, as NBC News reports.
On Friday, Vance compared family separations resulting from immigration policies to those that happen when criminals are arrested for violent crimes. “Every time that somebody’s arrested for a crime, that’s family separation,” he said. Vance defended the practice by arguing that enforcing the law sometimes leads to these unfortunate situations, but it is necessary to maintain order at the border.
Trump has similarly defended the family separation policy in past remarks. During a 2023 town hall, he acknowledged that the policy was harsh but said it was effective in deterring illegal immigration. “When you have that policy, people don’t come,” Trump stated.
In a recent interview, Trump emphasized plans for mass deportations, indicating that family separations might still be part of his strategy. While he acknowledged the difficulties the policy creates for families, he expressed a focus on ensuring the deportation of those he described as criminals. “Provisions will be made, but we have to get the criminals out,” he said.
The zero-tolerance policy, which led to the separation of over 5,000 families in 2018, was widely condemned by both domestic and international groups. Many families affected by the policy have not been reunified, with a recent Department of Homeland Security report indicating that 1,360 children are still separated from their families.
Homeland Security officials are continuing efforts to reunite children with their families years after the policy was ended. These efforts have been slow, in part due to the lack of adequate records kept by the Trump administration regarding the families affected by the separations. The impact of these separations continues to reverberate, with many children still suffering the emotional and psychological effects, according to opponents.
Advocacy groups have been working to raise awareness of the issue, launching social media campaigns to highlight the stories of those who were separated. One teen named Billy shared his experience of being separated from his father and left without information about his family for 30 days. His hope, he said, is that no one else will have to go through what he did.
Another teen, who remains unnamed, described being moved to New York while maintaining limited contact with his family before being reunited. These personal stories have fueled a renewed push among some to end family separations permanently.
Vice President Kamala Harris has voiced strong opposition to the possibility of reinstating the family separation policy. Harris, who has consistently opposed what she says are punitive immigration measures, is planning to reintroduce a bipartisan border security bill aimed at addressing the border crisis without separating families. She described the previous policy as both inhumane and ineffective in providing a long-term solution to border security.
The debate over immigration continues to be a divisive issue in American politics. While the Trump campaign has focused on cracking down on illegal immigration, critics argue that policies like family separation have lasting consequences for the children and families involved. These effects, they say, are difficult to justify in a system that often lacks transparency and accountability.
For now, Vance's comments have sparked a renewed discussion about what border security will look like under a possible second Trump administration. With immigration remaining a hot-button issue, the potential for returning to harsh policies like family separation is likely to remain a central focus in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
As the 2024 election approaches, Vance and Trump are continuing to promote their vision for border security, while the Biden administration and immigration advocates work to address what Democrats say is the damage done by the family separation policy of 2018.
