Page 4 - aruba-today-20210115

A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 15 January 2021
Watchdog: DOJ bungled ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy

By COLLEEN LONG into custody by Health and
Associated Press Human Services, which
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jus- manages unaccompanied
tice Department leaders children at the border. The
under President Donald policy was a colossal mess;
Trump knew their 2018 “zero there was no system creat-
tolerance” border policy ed to reunite children with
would result in family sepa- their families. The watch-
rations but pressed on with dog report found that it led
prosecutions even as other to a $227 million funding
agencies became over- shortfall.
whelmed with migrants, a According to the report,
government watchdog re- department leaders under-
port released Thursday has estimated how difficult it
found. would be to carry out the
The report from the inspec- policy in the field and did
tor general for the Justice not inform local prosecu-
Department found that tors and others that chil-
leadership failed to pre- dren would be separated.
pare to implement the They also failed to under-
policy or manage the fall- stand that children would
out, which resulted in more be separated longer than
than 3,000 family separa- a few hours, and when
tions during “zero toler- that was discovered, they
ance” and caused lasting pressed on.
emotional damage to chil- In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, file photo, David Xol-Cholom, of Guatemala, hugs his son The policy began April 6,
dren who were taken from Byron at Los Angeles International Airport as they reunite after being separated during the Trump 2018, under an executive
their parents at the border. administration’s wide-scale separation of immigrant families, in Los Angeles. Associated Press order that was issued with-
The policy was widely con- out warning to other fed-
demned by world leaders, the U.S. and all but halt- Advocates for the families Gelernt said. “This new re- eral agencies that would
religious groups and law- ed asylum at the border, have called on Biden to al- port shows just how far the have to manage the poli-
makers in the U.S. as cruel. through a combination of low those families to reunite Trump administration was cy, including the U.S. Mar-
Former Attorney General executive orders and regu- in the United States. willing to go to destroy shals Service and Health
Jeff Sessions, along with lation changes. The American Civil Liber- these families. Just when and Human Services. It was
other top leaders in the President-elect Joe Biden ties Union sued to stop the you think the Trump admin- halted June 20, 2018.
Trump administration, were has said Trump’s restrictive separations and a federal istration can’t sink any low- The watchdog report found
bent on curbing immigra- immigration policies are judge ordered the families er, it does.” that judges, advocacy
tion. The “zero tolerance” harmful, but it’s not clear to be reunited, but some The “zero tolerance” pol- groups and even federal
policy was one of several yet what he will do when he are still not. Attorney Lee icy meant that any adult prosecutors raised con-
increasingly restrictive poli- gets in office to alter the sys- Gelernt, who has been caught crossing the border cerns over the policy. But
cies aimed at discourag- tem. About 5,500 children working for years on the is- illegally would be prosecut- Sessions and others wrongly
ing migrants from coming have been separated from sue, said the practice was ed for illegal entry. Because believed that arrests at the
to the Southern border. their parents since Trump “immoral and illegal.” children cannot be jailed border would not result in
Trump’s administration also took office, and many of “At a minimum, Justice De- with their family members, prolonged separation and
vastly reduced the number those parents were deport- partment lawyers should families were separated ignored the difficulty in re-
of refugees allowed into ed without their children. have known the latter,” and children were taken uniting families. q

Risky driving: U.S. traffic deaths up despite virus lockdowns

fic Safety Administration es- letter addressed to the na- the lack of enforcement.
timates that 28,190 people tion’s drivers. We are hearing from many
died in traffic crashes from Traffic deaths rose 0.6% states that traffic stops
January through Septem- during the first-quarter of have declined during CO-
ber of last year, up from 2020, but they fell 1.1% VID-19. Drivers feel like they
26,941 in the same period in the second quarter as can speed and get away
of 2019. Final statistics for coronavirus lockdowns re- with it,” he said.
the full year won’t come stricted movement. Fatali- NHTSA said recent reports
out until fall. ties spiked 13.1% from July show a 22% increase in ve-
Authorities blamed the through September, the hicle speeds in several met-
increase on risky driving agency said. ropolitan areas over pre-
behavior that developed “We think the big culprit is pandemic numbers. Also,
when there were few ve- speeding,” said Jonathan a study found that 65% of
hicles on the road early in Adkins, executive director drivers treated at trauma
In this Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, file photo, emergency crews work the pandemic. of the Governors Highway centers who were hurt in
the scene of a fatal crash involving a charter bus and car on the “Preliminary data tells us Safety Association. Early serious crashes had drugs
AA highway in Campbell County, Ky. that during the national in the pandemic, drivers or alcohol in their systems
Associated Press
health emergency, fewer found open roads and last year. It was 50.6% be-
DETROIT (AP) — The number despite coronavirus lock- Americans drove, but those drove faster. The behavior fore the pandemic, NHTSA
of people killed on the na- downs that curtailed driv- who did took more risks and continued even as traffic said. The agency also said
tion’s highways rose 4.6% in ing early in the year. had more fatal crashes,” volumes recovered, Adkins fewer people are wearing
the first nine months of 2020 The National Highway Traf- the safety agency said in a said. “A big factor here is seat belts.q