Trump administration uses little-known tactic to force undocumented immigrants with children to leave the country

The New York Times reported on the 5th that, in contrast to the “zero tolerance” family separation policy that drew international criticism during Trump’s first term, the Trump administration is now forcing undocumented immigrant families with children to leave the country using lesser-known methods. The administration is currently targeting certain undocumented immigrants, unlike during Trump’s first term when thousands of undocumented children were removed from their parents.

Evgeny and Evgeniia, a Russian couple who requested their last names be withheld, arrived at the US-Mexico border to seek political asylum during the Biden administration and faced deportation under Trump’s second term. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the couple they could return to Russia with their 8-year-old son, Maksim, or they could remain in a US detention center, where their son would be taken away and placed with other undocumented children.

Fearing persecution if they returned home, the couple chose to remain in US detention. Immigration officials issued a document stating “Interior separation is approved.” The couple last saw their son on May 15th of this year at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Maxim was taken away, and the couple were taken by ICE agents back to a detention center in New Jersey.

As they parted ways, Maxim asked how long they would be apart: “Just a few days, right? Just a few days?” Yevgeny replied, “Yes, just a few days.”

Reports indicate that Yevgeny’s case is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure undocumented immigrants to leave the country and deter illegal entry. Immigration officials are removing children from their parents across the country, a smaller but more targeted version of the family separation policy during Trump’s first term. According to internal government documents, there have been at least nine similar cases.

Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, said the government previously avoided threatening to separate families as a means of forcing immigrants to leave the country. Instead, it granted parole and required them to wear an electronic anklet while awaiting their immigration court hearing.

The New York Times analyzed that the number of illegal immigrants has fallen to a recent low, and the Trump administration has shifted its focus to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years and have been ordered deported.