When We Previously Separated Parents And Children?

Throughout American history, authorities have used various reasons and laws to separate children from their parents during times of war and unrest. During slavery, there was a daily buying and selling of children from their enslaved parents. In 2018, more than 5,500 children of immigrants were separated from their parents at the border. The Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy, better known as the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), was passed in 1978 to stop this often unjustified taking of children.

The US has a long history of separating children from their parents, including enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and Mexican immigrants. During World War II, 120,000 Japanese American people were forced into prison camps by the US government, with 30,000 of them being children. Many children reluctantly joined the Army as soon as they were released.

Family separation is embedded in American history, tied to our inhumane founding and to force a fantasized notion of America by solving the so-called “problem”. In the 19th century, Native American children were removed from their families and shipped to white-run boarding schools. States took custody of children who were deemed “orphans”, even when they had parents or relatives willing and able to take care of them.

The Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy, which aimed to prevent the unjustified separation of children, has been met with criticism. However, the US has a long history of separating families, with no plan to return them.