There is so much dust and debris flying around Washington these days, a lot of it deliberately kicked up by Donald Trump and his enablers, that sometimes we miss the things that are really important. I have a for-instance: the evaporation of all compassion at America’s borders.

It has been three weeks since the president’s top law enforcer, attorney general Jeff Sessions, announced a new ‘”zero tolerance” policy for foreign nationals attempting to cross into the United States illegally. Send everyone to jail and refer them for prosecution, he cried, no exceptions.

This is already happening at the southern border with Mexico which has seen a significant recent uptick in attempted crossings by citizens fleeing lives of danger and desperation in their Central American homes like Guatemala and Honduras.

Many arrive with young children in tow. Because there is no provision for sending minors to jails, this has led to the routine separation of children from mothers and fathers. Over a two-week period this month, 638 adults were referred for prosecution under the new “zero-tolerance” effort, a Border Protection official told Congress last week. They bought 658 children with them.

MORE:   https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-us-border-children-immigrants-wall-parents-separate-families-a8374671.html