The court-ordered deadline to reunite families separated at the border has passed. But hundreds of children still have not been reunited with their parents.
In some of those cases, their parents have already been deported.
“It is not the best face of the United States federal government,” said Robert Garrett, the Austin bureau chief of the Dallas Morning News.
He spoke in an interview on Sunday morning’s State of Texas program. “If you want to measure efficiency and competence, they’re sending kids to the wrong airports in the middle of the night,” Garrett said of the flawed response. “It’s not a pretty picture.”
Despite the ongoing problems, public outrage about the separations seems to be fading. It’s not clear how much of a factor the zero-tolerance border policy will be when voters head to the polls for the midterm elections in November.
Joy Diaz, a producer for the Texas Standard on KUT Radio, believes the story still resonates for many people.
“Family separation never plays well with the American public,” Diaz said. She pointed out that President Obama also faced strong criticism over his administration’s policies on deportation. President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy also comes with criticism.
“This is a situation that will have consequences and ripple effects for many years to come,” added Diaz.
