Browse Exhibits (1 total)

Summary

This collection includes born digital items relating to the Trump Administration's family separation policy which was in effect from April 2018 to June 2018. The core idea of the family separation policy was to take a zero-tolerance approach to immigration. This approach was then intended to help deter further illegal immigration. Border officials prosecuted and held migrant adults in federal jails, but in doing so, they separated migrant parents from their children. This policy included any migrants crossing at the border; migrants legally coming to the border to request asylum were also charged in criminal court. By the time the policy ended in June 2018, the official number of children separated from their parents was 4368.  Former first lady Laura Bush compared the situation it to the internment camps for people of Japanese descent during World War II which she described as “one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history.” 

This topic was chosen due to the lasting effects the policy will have on the migrants involved and because of its influence on future U.S. immigration policy decisions. Items within the collection include videos, images, illustrations, Twitter posts, journal articles, news stories, and audio files.