US border police temporarily halt criminal prosecution of migrants
Washington, Jun 26 (IBNS): US border police have suspended criminal prosecution of illegal migrants who enter the country with their children, reports said on Tuesday.
The development was confirmed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, who informed the same to reporters in Texas. He added that it the prosecutions were halted last week.
The action followed order from US President Donald Trump, who, after enduring massive criticism from all corners, finally bowed down to the public demand of keeping the families together.
However, McAleenan said that Trump's 'zero tolerance' order was still active.
The Associated Press quoted the CBP Comissioner as saying that his department and the Department of Justice must work out a way to prosecute the parents without separating the former from their offspring.
The criminal prosecutions started in April, earlier this year, after months of Trump crying foul against the nab and release policy of illegal migrants.
Meanwhile, The Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defence, confirmed on Monday that it will be using two military bases in Texas as lodging for the migrants.
According to earlier US media reports, one of the bases will house the families and the other will be used to lodge undocumented children who crossed the border without an adult.
Speaking about the issue at a school police officers' conference in Reno, Nevada, on Monday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions batted for prosecutions, stating that relaxation in rules will encourage more migrants to cross-over, according to reports by the New York Times.
The government presently has to reunite families with more than 2000 children, who have been taken away and sent to different parts in the US.
Image: UNHCR/Markel Redondo
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