US suspends crucial part of its widely criticised zero-tolerance policy
Washington — The director of US border control has said migrant parents crossing in from Mexico illegally will for now no longer be referred for prosecution, US media reported, effectively suspending a key plank of the "zero tolerance" policy. US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, who made the announcement on Monday to reporters in Texas, and other officials insisted, however, that the policy remained in effect. McAleenan said that he stopped referring parents for prosecution shortly after President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order ending the policy of separating families entering the country illegally. The policy of separating children from their parents — including toddlers and even babies — drew scorn in America and around the world and forced Trump to make a rare retreat.
The president did, however, congratulate himself for ending a much-criticised policy that he was responsible for. McAleenan said the reason for suspending the pros...
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