Migrant Families Separated Under Trump Fear His Return to Office

Sixteen-year-old Billy's friends at his rural high school in South don't know he was one of thousands of children separated from ir parents at U.S.-Mexico border under n-President Donald Trump 's zero tolerance immigration policy .

At school, where he plays football and soccer, Billy doesn't talk about what he went through — that his far was told six years ago that Billy was being given up for option and feared he would never see his son again.

With United States on verge of an election that could put Trump back in office, Billy wants people to know that what happened to him and several thousand or children reverberates still. Some families have not been reunited, and many of those toger in U.S. have temporary status and fear a victorious Trump carrying out promised mass deportations .

“It was a very painful thing that happened to us,” said Billy, who was 9 at time. He did not want his full name or state he lives in identified for fear of endangering his family’s asylum application.

Trump has me his immigration views central to his campaign , accusing Biden ministration and Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, of failing to secure sourn border. Harris has not me immigration a campaign focus but has raised Trump's zero tolerance policy , one of his most contentious immigration actions as president.

Trump ministration aimed to criminally prosecute all ults coming across border illegally. Parents were separated from ir children, who were transferred to shelters nationwide.

Trump and his campaign did not say specifically wher he would revive practice if he wins on Nov. 5. He has previously defended it, including claiming without evidence during a Univision interview last year that it “stopped people from coming by hundreds of thousands.”

"President Trump will restore his effective immigration policies, implement brand new crackdowns that will send shockwaves to all world’s criminal smugglers, and marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign’s press secretary.

Harris campaign held a event this month featuring children who were separated from ir families, aiming to draw attention to Trump's policies.

Billy, who spoke at event, is part of a group of children who are sharing ir stories in short social media videos to highlight zero tolerance policy. Billy and his far also have visited lawmakers in Washington.

Billy told Associated Press that even though he doesn't usually talk about his experiences, he and ors are “making sure that we raise our voices and that we share our stories” so something like this never happens again.

Most of families who were separated years ago are in legal limbo, ir immigration status in doubt. Under a settlement announced last year between families and Biden ministration, families have two years to apply for asylum under a more favorable process.

As election nears, vocates say y have heard from families who were separated expressing fears about Trump, if elected, making good on promises to deport millions of people.

“ families we serve are scared and have a lot of questions about what a new Trump ministration would mean for m,” said Anilú Chwick Soltes, pro bono director for Toger & Free, an organization launched in 2018 in response to zero tolerance policy. group works to help separated families.

2023 settlement barred future ministrations from using family separation as a widespre policy until 2031. But vocates have concerns.

Christie Turner-Herbas, senior viser with Kids in Need of Defense, said she worries about exceptions to policy being exploited and says re has to be political will to enforce it.

Trump ministration's policy deviated from general practice of keeping families with children toger when y come to sourn border.

goal was to dissue people by criminally prosecuting everyone who crossed border. For families, parents were prosecuted. Kids, who cannot be held in custody, were treated as unaccompanied minors and transferred to shelters.

After an outcry , Trump said on June 20, 2018, that he was ending policy . Six days later, a judge ordered government to reunite families, thousands of whom h been separated. Agencies didn’t have ir computer systems properly linked, making it difficult to reunite families. Many parents were deported, complicating things even more.

When Democrat Joe Biden became president, he created a task force to reunite families. Building on efforts by groups that h sued Trump ministration, task force identified about 5,000 children were separated, and about 1,400 aren't confirmed to be reunited with ir families.

Some are in process. Ors are believed to have reunited in U.S. but aren't coming forward, possibly fearing government interaction. For ors, no valid contact information exists, so search continues.

American Civil Liberties Union, which brought a lawsuit against Trump ministration that helped end family separation, puts number of separated children closer to 5,500.

Lee Gelernt, le counsel in that lawsuit, said ACLU estimates that as many as 1,000 families are still apart.

“Some little children have now spent nearly ir entire lives without ir parents," he said.

task force runs a website where families can register to be reunited, and it works with International Organization for Migration to help those families with things like getting a passport to come to U.S. task force's director has traveled to families' home countries to do rio announcements looking for parents.

vocacy groups also have been instrumental.

Justice in Motion, which works with vocates in Mexico and Central America to track down parents, uses a last known dress and talks to neighbors, local businesses, hospitals, schools — anyone who might know where that person is.

But y're stuck with poor recordkeeping that's now outdated, said Nan Schivone, organization's legal director.

Families and separated children have struggled with fallout .

For 22-year-old Efrain, re was guilt. Efrain said his far didn't want to bring him to U.S. in 2018, but he pushed for it. When y were eventually separated, Efrain wondered wher it would have been better if his far h been alone.

His far was sent back to Guatemala. Efrain, who didn't want his full name used because he fears repercussions, was placed in a shelter for unaccompanied children for roughly five months.

His far has diabetes, and Efrain worried about his health. When y could do a video call after Efrain left shelter, he noticed how much thinner his far looked.

Three years later, y reunited at Atlanta airport. Ever since, Efrain says he's been trying to make up for lost time. He says he struggles with anxiety and loneliness, echoing isolation he felt after being separated from his far.

“It’s like I’m alone in a room locked up,” he said in Spanish.

Billy's far, meanwhile, still cries when he talks years later about what he and his son went through. He believes people have forgotten what happened and families' trauma.

Billy says he's found purpose in sharing what he experienced: “I know that my story holds a lot of power."