Migrant parents entering the United States illegally with their children will no longer face criminal charges, according to a report by the Washington Post.
“We’re suspending prosecutions of adults who are members of family units until ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can accelerate resource capability to allow us to maintain custody,” an senior official from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who spoke to the outlet anonymously, said on Thursday.
The official added that on Wednesday evening, following President Donald Trump’s decision to sign an executive order reversing his administration’s policy on separating children from their parents, Border Patrol agents were told to cease sending migrant parents to federal courthouses.
As ICE does not currently have enough room to house the amount of detained families, the official added to the Post that many families will likely be released from custody while waiting for their appointed court hearings.
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This reported policy change comes just one day after Trump signed an executive order reversing his administration’s policy of separating children from their parents when they illegally cross at the border.
“We are keeping families together,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “This will solve that problem. At the same time, we are keeping a very powerful border and it continues to be a zero tolerance. We have zero tolerance for people who enter our country illegally.”
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer also told the Post that due to the “zero-tolerance” policy, adults who enter the U.S. illegally will continue to face misdemeanor charges.
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The president’s executive order was signed amid an overwhelming backlash against the policy that has resulted in over 2,000 children being separated from their parents since May.