Trump Signs Order to End Family Separation Policy

 

United States President Donald Trump¹ signed an executive order Wednesday to end the process of separating children from families that have crossed into the country illegally.

The executive order marks a major change for the president and his administration. He and other officials had repeatedly said they had no choice but to separate families stopped at the border because of the law and a court decision.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the president and others had said that the only way to end the practice was for Congress to pass new legislation.

However, Democrats² and some Republicans have said Trump could end the policy himself. Trump did just that.

The executive order says the government will prosecute³ everyone who crosses the border illegally. It also calls for providing or building structures that can hold parents and children together while their cases are considered in courts.

The order also directs the United States attorney general to seek a change to a court ruling known as the Flores settlement. The ruling bars the government from keeping children in detention⁴ for more than 20 days.

Zero tolerance⁵ policy

Wednesday’s executive order did not end the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. During the signing, Trump said, “the border is just as tough, but we want to keep families together.”

Before Wednesday, the zero-tolerance policy required adults to be sent to the custody⁶ of the U.S. Marshals Service, while children were sent to centers run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Between May 5 and June 9, more than 2,300 children were separated from their families at the United States’ border with Mexico. The families are mostly from Central American countries. They crossed through Mexico to reach the U.S. border.

News reports in recent days in the U.S. have been filled with emotional images of young children at the border crying for their parents. The images have caused anger toward the practice and pressure on the Trump administration to change its policy.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

prosecute - v. to hold a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty

tolerance - n. willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own

tough - adj. strong and not easily broken or damaged

custody - n. the state of being kept in a prison or jail

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。