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  • 2018-06-19 (xsd:date)
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  • Does a Specific Law Mandate Family Separation and Detention of Minors? (en)
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  • Raging public debate in mid-June 2018 over who precisely allowed for the separation of families at the United States border and subsequent detention of children (despite the fact that Attorney General Jeff Sessions first announced the plans in April 2018, just weeks before the practice began) led to a number of rumors about the policy's origin: One versions of that rumor was shared by the Facebook page Uncle Sam's Misguided Children on 19 June 2018. In meme form the page shared a screenshot of what was purportedly the text of Public Law 107-296, captioned: HERE IT IS. PASSED BY THE DEMOCRATS. ENOUGH OF THE LIES, DECEIT, & FAKE NEWS[.] Obscured in the meme was the full title of Public Law 107-296, H.R.5005 — Homeland Security Act of 2002. A primary claim of the meme was that the legislation in question was passed by the Democrats; in fact, the bill was passed by the 107th Congress in November 2002. The 107th Congress met from 3 January 2001 until 2 January 2003, during which time the September 11th attacks occurred in 2001. On the date of Public Law 107-296's passage (25 November 2002), Senate.gov provided its majority as Republican, not Democrat: The bill's sponsor was Rep. Richard Armey of Texas (a Republican). The bill had 118 co-sponsors, of whom 114 were Republicans and four were Democrats. Neither metric (majority or bill sponsors) indicated the bill was passed by Democrats. Who passed the law was part of the meme, the other being a suggestion that Public Law 107-296 mandated the separation of children from their parents at the border. The screenshot featured depicted the tail end of the portion titled Subtitle E—Citizenship and Immigration Services (highlighted), and the following Subtitle F—General Immigration Provisions. The section depicted pertained to SEC. 451. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, which broadly established a Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security: In March 2003, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were formed to carry out the enforcement provisions of Public Law 107-296 (Homeland Security Act of 2002). The provisions of the law were broadened in scope after the bill was passed. The snapshot displayed the definitions portion of Subtitle E (the italicized part was not shown in the meme): Simply put, Subtitle E of Public Law 107-296 (establishing the Department of Homeland Security, DHS) placed immigration and related functions in the scope of the newly established agency. Section G of Subtitle E defined the term unaccompanied alien child as a minor under the age of 18, lacking lawful immigration status in the US, and primarily, an individual for whom there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States or no parent or legal guardian in the United States is available to provide care and physical custody. This did not mandate that children be separated from their families, but instead, created a legal classification for children with no parent or guardian present or for whom no parent or legal guardian was available to provide care and custody. Debate surrounding Public Law 107-296 was ill-defined, with many simply sharing the screenshot as a vague indication the policy of family separation came before the debate about it in May and June 2018. Many attributed its passage to Democrat lawmakers. However, the bill was passed in November 2002 under a Republican majority, and it simply defined an unaccompanied alien child as one with no available parent or guardian. It made no provision for separating a child from parents or legal guardians or for detaining any child separated by DHS agencies from their parent, and it was primarily passed by Republicans. (en)
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