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The Trump administration has moved swiftly, and with precision to overhaul the U.S. immigration system with policy changes - both dramatic and technical - that have upended the lives of hundreds of thousands of people both here and around the world. https://tmsnrt.rs/3n1x6iT
. @kristinacooke and I looked at five families separated by distinctive Trump polices. All are impacted by not one particular change, but by layers and layers of changes that could make reunifications difficult - if not impossible - no matter what happens in the Nov. election
One Venezuelan father has never met his baby daughter because he is stuck waiting to apply for asylum in Mexico - under a Trump policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols - after his pregnant wife who he arrived at the border with was allowed into the United States
One Iraqi refugee who worked for U.S. military contractors is stuck in Jordan as refugee admissions - especially those for Iraqis who supported U.S. interests - have been slashed. Now the administration is considering delaying refugee admissions this year: https://reut.rs/2SaZYXM
A mother separated from her two daughters at the U.S. Mexico border by Trump's family separation policy - one of them still breastfeeding at the time - was deported and hasn't seen her children since. While many families were reunited many have been permanently pulled apart.
A Malian package courier who lived in the U.S. for three decades with his wife and U.S. citizen children lost his asylum case years ago because his lawyer never showed up but was allowed to stay if he regularly checked in with immigration officials. That changed under Trump.
And an Iranian couple has been kept apart for years under Trump's signature travel ban, implemented just days after he took office. But they are also affected by a series of subsequent rules and bans put in place in later years.
All of these stories show the complexity, and depth, of the changes Trump has made to the immigration system. Biden says if he wins he will reverse them - that may not be possible. A Trump win will mean an expansion and solidification of these policies. https://tmsnrt.rs/3n1x6iT
