Is This America’s Border Policy? (Joshua Johnson, 1A)

The United States is separating children from their families at the border.

President Trump is blaming Democrats for these policies, a claim PolitiFact has rated “false.”

The Trump administration may believe that Democrats are responsible for policies that encourage illegal border crossing, but we found no law mandating that children be separated from their parents. … 

The Homeland Security Department’s longstanding policy is to separate children from their custodians when they are referred for criminal prosecution. Trump’s administration has decided to prosecute all illegal crossings. Families were rarely prosecuted under previous administrations.

And The Daily Beast is reporting that intelligence and defense contractors are benefiting from this policy. One corporation, Virginia-based MVM, has listed jobs for child-care workers “in anticipation of a contract award.” But the company’s record certainly isn’t pristine. Betsey Woodruff and Spencer Ackerman write:

In 2008, MVM lost a lucrative contract with the Central Intelligence Agency in Iraq for, The Wall Street Journal reported, “failing to provide enough armed guards.” It also faced internal allegations that its guards in Iraq, which worked for both the CIA and the National Security Agency, “were procuring and possessing unauthorized weapons and explosives,” according to a since-dismissed lawsuit from an Army Special Forces veteran employee who unsuccessfully claimed wrongful termination after blowing the whistle.

... More at https://the1a.org/shows/2018-06-18/border-policy 
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