On Monday, John Hickenlooper, the Governor of Colorado, signed an executive order to prevent any use of the state’s resources to help the Trump administration policy of separating undocumented immigrant minors from their parents after they illegally cross the US border.
The Trump administration see the move as a rebuke, but it seems unlikely to have any real widespread impact. The term-limited Democrat, who is tipped to become a Presidential candidate in 2020, said the policy has resulted in widespread condemnation and told a news conference that they wanted to add their own sense of urgency to the issue.
The ‘zero tolerance’ policy, which was announced by Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, resulted in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) referring all cases of undocumented immigrants illegally entering the US for criminal prosecution. Because US protocol prevents the detention of children who are not charged with criminal offenses, immigrant minors have been separated from their parents. Announced on 6 April this year, referrals began to increase by the DHS last month, effectively commencing the policy properly.
Around 2,000 immigrant minors have been separated from their parents in six weeks, between April and May, and the policy has become controversial in Washington DC and across the US. Immigrant advocacy groups, Democrats, and several conservatives have lambasted the policy, even as the fight to change US immigration laws continues.