(Xinhua)15:54, July 31, 2019
LOS ANGELES, July 30 — More than 900 children have been separated by the U.S. government from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in one year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Tuesday.
The ACLU said in a court filing in San Diego, California that 911 children were separated from their parents, including babies and toddlers from June 28, 2018 to June 29, 2019.
The forced separation is part of result of the U.S. government zero tolerance policy toward migrants who illegally cross the U.S. southern border.
The policy prompted a domestic and international outcry. Under the political pressure, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June 2018, saying that the U.S. government would stop separating families unless the adults pose a risk to their children.
However, according to the ACLU, few of the more than 900 children taken from their parents since June of last year were at risk, and the organization has condemned the deplorable conditions in which the children are detained.