June 23, 2018

This Heart-Rending Reunification of Mother and Child Says All You Need to Know About Trump’s Border Policy

Patrick Semansky/AP

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On Friday, a Guatemalan mother was tearfully reunited with her 7-year-old at the Baltimore airport after being separated at the border a month earlier. The heart-rending scene was captured by ABC News, among other outlets.

The mother and child, Beata Mariana de Jesus Mejia-Mejia and Darwin Michael Mejia, surrendered to Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico to Arizona on May 19. They were reunified after Mejia-Mejia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier this week challenging the family separation process. 

These separations can have harmful effects on children and parents alike. More than 2,300 children were taken from their families at the border from May 5 to June 9 as part of White House’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy—500 children reportedly have been reuited with their families, according to the Associated Press, since President Donald Trump, amid public outcry, signed an executive order rolling back his administration’s policy of taking children away from their parents. It is unknown how many of those 500 remain in custody.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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