How Child Separation Is Normally Done

The Trump administration's apparent policy of separating parents and children entering the U.S. without papers--even those seeking asylum--has drawn criticism, and rightly so: It's transparently cruel and essentially disconnected from any public safety or child welfare purpose. A district court judge has also said such a policy, if it did exist, would be a clear and "brutal" constitutional violation. It's also a breathtaking departure from the procedural norms that the U.S. legal system has deve...