>Was this happening under Obama? Real question. > >I think the separation of kids is new.
from what I understand the option was available through a law passed by during the Clinton administration, and I guess it was naively assumed that no one would be fucked up enough to actually rip children away from their parents. Neither the Bush or Obama administrations exercised the option because it was too cruel. Even the earlier days of the Trump admin when Gen Kelly was head of DHS, this was considered, then killed because there was too much blowback.
But Trump/Sessions/Miller are on some zero tolerance shit, because for them these brown people are using their children to game the system and must be punished.
Trump blaming the dems for this is pure horseshit. He doesn't *have* to do this, and the law doesn't have to change for it to stop. He can end this tomorrow if he wants to. But I assume he's gonna try leverage it to get his dumb ass wall.