New US immigration laws under Trump’s leadership have so far caused a lot of devastation for families. Parents who were unaware of the new laws have found themselves separated from their children. According to international agencies, a lot of children in the US have experienced family separation due to not meeting immigration requirements.
Here, we’ll look at why it’s important to know US family immigration laws before considering making a move to America.
What are the new laws?
Immigration was a huge part of Trump’s presidential campaign, and when he was elected President of the United States, he made several major changes to immigration policies.
One of the first moves he made, was to ban nationals from eight different countries, from entering the US. He also reduced the number of refugee admissions, increased arrests for unauthorised immigrants and cancelled the DACA program, which provided temporary deportation relief and work authorisation for more than 690,000 unauthorised immigrants who were taken to the US as children.
Trump also ordered the construction of a wall at the US-Mexico border. However, the wall is still to receive billions of dollars of funding and has proven to be a political nightmare for the president. The most disturbing effect the tougher border has had is that it has forced children to be separated from their parents, with many unable to be reunited with their parents, even after they have been deported.
Trump administration claim it could take 2 years to reunite families
Although the most recent issues with families being separated at the border has led to hundreds of children not being reunited with their families, the problem is much more extensive. It is thought there is a total of 47,000 children who are still to be reunited with their families after the new laws were introduced in 2017. Now, the Trump administration is asking for 2 years to find the children involved.
It claims the task is particularly difficult as many of the children are no longer in government custody.
The importance of seeking a good lawyer
Although the U.S. District Judge, Dana Sabraw halted the process of splitting up families in 2018, immigrants who have been affected are urged to seek professional help. With the assistance of good immigration lawyers, families can ensure they don’t end up separated.
While the government is now trying to fix the error it made which resulted in thousands of families being broken up, the fact occurs that the cruel practice should never have been introduced in the first place. Lawyers are trying to deny the Trump administration’s request to give them two years to find the thousands of children lost in the system, but it’s unclear whether or not they will be granted the additional time.
