As the nation celebrated Independence Day, more heartbreaking stories have come out about families torn apart by Trump’s family separation policy. While Americans rally against family separations and editorial boards slam Trump’s cruel immigration plan, the administration still has no real plan to end this manufactured crisis. Democrats believe #FamiliesBelongTogether and we urge the Trump administration to join with us to end this human rights disaster.

The trauma of family separation leaves emotional scars for both kids and parents:

Los Angeles Times: A 3-year-old was separated from his father at the border. Now his parents are dealing with his trauma

“At night, Andriy sometimes wakes up screaming in the bunk bed he shares with his mother and baby brother. When he started to wet the bed, Calderon put him back in diapers. Sometimes he throws his tiny body down on the floor, hands behind his back, acting out what happened to his father.”

After refusing to provide updated figures for more than a week, the Trump administration admitted they had separated hundreds more children from their families than they had previously claimed:

Politico: HHS says hundreds more migrant kids may have been separated than earlier count

“The Trump administration may have separated hundreds more migrant children from their parents than previously estimated, HHS Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Thursday.”

This lack of communication from the Trump administration on the truth behind their own policy can lead families to horrifying conclusions:   

NBC4 New York: Tearful Reunion in Miami for Mom, Child Separated at Border

“At Sunday's emotional reunion, the child's uncle Nicolas Godinez said his family had been sick with worry about her return. They'd heard unsubstantiated rumors the U.S. government was putting children like Janne up for adoption.”

The Trump administration is forcing parents to choose either reuniting with their child or their child seeking asylum:

NBC News: New Trump admin order for separated parents: Leave U.S. with kids or without them

“The new instructions to agents do not allow parents who were separated from their children under President Donald Trump's ‘zero tolerance’ policy to reunite with their children while they await a decision on asylum, a protection sought by thousands of migrant families fleeing violence in Central America.”

It’s clear the administration never had a plan to reunite these families, and is making the process of matching up parents and children as invasive and dehumanizing as possible:

CNN: DNA testing being done on separated migrant children and parents, official says

“Jennifer K. Falcon, communications director for RAICES, a nonprofit in Texas that offers free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees, called the move deplorable because collecting such sensitive data would allow the government to conduct surveillance on the children ‘for the rest of their lives.’

“’This is a further demonstration of administration's incompetence and admission of guilt, this further drives home the point we've been saying. They never registered parents and children properly.””

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to ramp up their anti-immigrant agenda by seeking to take citizenship away from those who already have it:

WNYC: USCIS is Starting a Denaturalization Task Force

“As a result, the organization expects to hire dozens of lawyers and immigration officers in the coming weeks to find U.S. citizens they say should not have been naturalized, to revoke their citizenship, and then eventually deport them.”

While the Trump administration stands in the way of family reunification, Americans are stepping up:  

NPR: Migrant Parents Face Major Obstacles Before They Can Regain Custody Of Their Children

“Gonzalez had a message for parents who are still in detention.

“’What they are going through is not easy,’ Gonzalez said. ‘But there are a lot of people with good hearts who are willing to reunite you with your children.’”

“Her supporters are already turning their attention to another case and trying to reunite families — one at a time.”