Homeland chief: Family separations ‘rare’

A top Trump administration official said Thursday that the number of family separations at the border has plummeted since last summer’s “zero tolerance” policy was in effect.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said fewer than 1,000 children have been separated from families out of 450,000 family groups that have crossed the border since October.

“I have acknowledged that this initiative, while well intended, lost the public trust and President Trump was right to end it,” he told the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating border problems.

“So I want to start with the rare portion of this,” McAleenan said. “Fewer than 1,000 juveniles have been separated from their parents crossing the border this fiscal year. That’s with 450,000 crossings of family units.”

He said they were mostly separated because of health and safety concerns.

“The vast majority” is kept together, he said.

McAleenan’s testimony came amid outcry from Democrats and advocates over the treatment of migrants at the border, an internal investigation into Border Patrol agents who posted crude and mocking posts in a secret Facebook group and the move this week to effectively end asylum requests at the border.

Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez (D-Queens/Bronx) asked McAleenan how so many Border Patrol agents ended up in the Facebook group where “rape memes” featuring her were shared.

McAleenan said he had seen the images and promptly asked for the group to be investigated.