Sunday on ABC-7 XTRA: What’s next after President Donald Trump’s executive order
Following the uproar over the separation of families along the U.S. – Mexico border, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to keep together families who are detained at the border. The executive order came after the president argued he had no power to do so, and after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other administration officials justified the separation of families.
On Sunday, the first 30 families separated from children under the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy were released to shelters, including the Annunciation House in El Paso. The parents, however, were not reunited with their children. According to immigrant rights advocacy groups, the families were given a 1-800 number to begin the process of tracking down where their children are located.
Near El Paso, the Marcelino Serna Port of Entry in Tornillo has been ground zero for groups protesting the zero tolerance policy and the separation of families. ABC-7 learned Saturday that girls are now being housing inside the facility along with boys. According to Sen. Tom Udall, as many as 250 teens are being housed in the facility.
Earlier in the week Udall, along with other lawmakers and a group of college students, tried to tour the facility. They were not allowed inside. Instead, the workers inside the facility showed the group a video of the facility.
Udall was able to tour the facility Saturday, and even had the opportunity to speak to some of the teenagers. He believes the nation is moving from one humanitarian disaster to another.
“What I’m talking about is: Now we are going to take families, with children, and create camps. We don’t know yet where,” Udall said. “The president’s order seems to suggest that the Department of Defense is going to do that, or some other places in the country. We’ve never done that before.”
The issue of the separation of families is now attracting the attention of actors and directors as Hollywood’s elite power brokers are speaking out in Tornillo, calling for an end to immigrant family separation.
“I’m here today because the President of the United States created this crisis of separating children from their parents.” Director Rob Reiner said.
The immigration debate is the topic of ABC-7 Xtra on Sunday night at 10:35 p.m. You too can take part in the conversation. You can email us your comments and questions at kvia.com. You can also reach us during the show at 915-496-1771, or tweet ABC-7’s Saul Saenz @kviasaul and use #ABC-7 Xtra to join the conversation.
