Justice Department Knew 2018 Border Policy Would Separate Families, Didn’t Plan Well

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions visits California in April 2017. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has released a critical review of Sessions’ 2018 zero tolerance policy on people trying to cross the Southwest border.

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Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew his “zero tolerance” policy on illegal entry along the Southwest border in 2018 would separate children from their parents, a watchdog office reported on Thursday. Despite warnings that the government couldn’t care for the children, he pushed forward with the policy. As a result, more than 3,000 children were separated from their families.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a critical review which found the department “failed to effectively prepare for and manage the policy’s implementation.”

Trump administration officials “significantly underestimated [the policy’s] complexities and demonstrated a deficient understanding of the legal requirements related to the care and custody of separated children.”