US is separating immigrant families to discourage others, activists say
EL PASO, Texas - Thousands of parents who crossed illegally into the U.S. in recent years have been held with their children at immigration detention centers. But the case of a Brazilian woman and her son illustrates what migrant advocates call a harsher approach to immigration enforcement that aims to separate parents and children.
She's being held in Texas, while her son was taken to a shelter in Illinois. The unspoken goal, advocates say, is to discourage parents from crossing illegally or attempting to request asylum.
The Brazilian mother - who asked to be identified only as Jocelyn because she was fleeing domestic violence - entered the U.S. in August with her 14-year-old son, who she said was being threatened by gangs. They hoped to apply for asylum.
Migrant families like Jocelyn's are usually processed by immigration courts, an administrative process. Such families are detained together or released with
