THE LATEST: Trump Misleads Americans About His Anti-Immigrant Agenda

The Trump administration continues to mislead Americans about its anti-immigrant agenda. The Trump administration offered inaccurate information about the thousands of families it separated at the border, and lied about its decision to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Meanwhile, children and families continue to suffer from Trump’s cruel family separation policy. Here’s the latest:

 

The Trump administration misled the American people about the thousands of families they separated at the border.

 

Washington Post Fact Checker: “The Trump administration offered inaccurate totals on June 23 and perhaps at other points. It claimed to have a ‘central database’ that appears not to exist. Although there is a ‘matching table,’ it came after DHS said it had a database on June 23. The OIG’s report shows the public was misled this summer on an issue of profound national importance, and so we will once again award Four Pinocchios to the Trump administration.”

 

The Trump administration admitted in court that top Trump advisers, not the DOJ, decided to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

 

CNN: “The Department of Justice acknowledged in a court filing Thursday that the idea of including a citizenship question on the 2020 census came from top Trump advisers rather than the Justice Department.”

 

A five-year-old girl was separated from her family and brought to a detention center, where she was persuaded to sign away her rights.

 

The New Yorker: “According to a long-standing legal precedent known as the Flores settlement, which established guidelines for keeping children in immigration detention, Helen had a right to a bond hearing before a judge; that hearing would have likely hastened her release from government custody and her return to her family. At the time of her apprehension, in fact, Helen checked a box on a line that read, ‘I do request an immigration judge,’ asserting her legal right to have her custody reviewed. But, in early August, an unknown official handed Helen a legal document, a ‘Request for a Flores Bond Hearing,’ which described a set of legal proceedings and rights that would have been difficult for Helen to comprehend. (‘In a Flores bond hearing, an immigration judge reviews your case to determine whether you pose a danger to the community,’ the document began.) On Helen’s form, which was filled out with assistance from officials, there is a checked box next to a line that says, ‘I withdraw my previous request for a Flores bond hearing.’ Beneath that line, the five-year-old signed her name in wobbly letters.”