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Watchdog: Justice Department Knew Zero Tolerance on Immigration Would Split
Families

VOA News

   A government watchdog report has concluded that leaders in President
   Donald Trump's Justice Department were aware that their zero-tolerance
   policy would trigger family separations but nevertheless moved forward
   with prosecutions.

   The report from the inspector general for the Justice Department,
   released Thursday, found that the agency's leaders failed to
   effectively coordinate with other parts of government or manage the
   outcome.

   More than 3,000 families were separated, resulting in long-term
   emotional damage to children who were forcibly taken from their parents
   by U.S. authorities at the border.

   The Trump administration policy drew widespread condemnation, with
   world leaders, elected officials and religious groups denouncing the
   policy as cruel.

   The policy was one of several aimed at preventing migrants from
   entering the U.S. by crossing the southern border the U.S. shares with
   Mexico. The report details the key role played by then-Attorney General
   Jeff Sessions and other top Justice Department officials as they were
   pressured by the White House.

   Biden plan unclear

   President-elect Joe Biden has said Trump's immigration policies are
   destructive, but it is not clear how Biden will address the issue when
   he assumes the presidency on January 20.

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