The Department of Homeland Security has stopped referring illegal immigrant adults for prosecution when they arrive with their families, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border protection confirmed Monday.
“In accordance of the executive order, I diverted the temporary suspension of prosecution for families in that category while we work through a process with DOJ while we can maintain family unity while empowering protection efforts,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan.
McAleenan said his decision was made just hours after President Trump signed an executive order holding that families cannot be separated when they arrive. Officials said family separation happened when they tried to prosecute adults, and then were faced with a court ruling that said children in these families cannot be detained for longer than 20 days.
The White House stressed that the decision to stop prosecuting these adults is not a permanent one, and reflects a temporary lack of capacity to deal with these families.
“This is a temporary solution, this isn’t going to last,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday.
She also stressed that Congress needs to act to allow the Trump administration to prosecute illegal immigrants without splitting up families.
“We’re not changing a policy, we’re simply out of resources, and at some point Congress has to do what it was elected to do,” she said.
