The option of separating women and children on the southern US border, in an attempt to deter illegal immigration, is no longer being considered by the Trump administration. This was according to a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, on Wednesday.
A Senate panel questioned the John Kelly, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who noted that separating female immigrants from their children was not a current policy, except in rare circumstances. But David Lapan, a spokesman for the DHS, later reported that the current policy would not be changed, and the idea of separation was no longer being considered. A DHS official, wishing to remain anonymous, said that part of the reason the agency had dropped the idea was because of a big fall in the number of women trying to enter the US with children.
In March, 1125 minors traveling with their guardians, the majority of whom were female, were caught at the southern border as revealed by Customs and Border Protection data, released on Wednesday. While women and children were once the fastest-growing immigrant apprehension demographic, the fall represents a decline of as much as 93 percent since December.
The level of immigrant apprehensions also fell to 16,600 in March, the lowest figure in 17 years. Kelly says that the credit for the fall goes to the tough immigration policies introduced by President Donald Trump.