Separating extended families at border in effect for years



WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after President Donald Trump ended his widely criticized practice of separating migrant children from parents, his administration is again under fire for a different kind of family separation crisis.

This one involves extended families.

Unlike last year, when at least 2,700 children were separated from parents under a "zero tolerance" program, these minors have been taken from aunts, uncles and grandparents under a policy meant to guard against human trafficking.

This policy has been the practice long before Trump became president. But the recent surge in families trying to cross the border suggests children are being separated from relatives much more frequently, and because of systemic delays, children are held without caregivers longer.