Operation Phobos

We know the Trump administration has been unlawfully expelling unaccompanied minors, or children who come to the U.S. by themselves, under a Stephen Miller-led COVID-19 health order, including detaining some kids as young as 1 at hotels in Arizona

600 unaccompanied minors were deported by the Trump administration in April under a Stephen Miller-led order exploiting the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reports, a surge from the at least 299 who were deported toward the end of March. Some of the kids that have been quickly deported in blatant violation of U.S. law meant to protect migrant children have been as young as 10, the report said.

One of the dehumanizing administration policies Miller advanced was the “zero-tolerance” policy, a policy which caused a surge in the number of children and parents being separated from one another when caught crossing into the U.S. via the U.S.-Mexico border.  

According to The Washington Post, despite public outrage over the policy, “Miller defended the separations and had encouraged the president to enact them – telling others in the West Wing they would prove to be a migration deterrent.” Due to the immense blowback of the policy, President Trump ended its practice but as of August 2019, but Miller continued to defend it. 

Despite President Trump’s executive order ending the policy, the administration has continued to utilize covert practices to continue separating families at the U.S. border, as SPLC recently reported.