Separated: Inside an American Tragedy

by Jacob Soboroff

President Trump, however, was no fan of foreign aid, even if it kept farmers afloat and potential migrants at home. He still felt the same way after evidence was presented to his administration later in 2018 by Custom and Border Protection, which showed climate change and variability were fueling the food insecurity driving migration. The administration ultimately ignored the consequences of climate change, which candidate Trump had called a Chinese hoax, when in 2019 it defunded programs to mitigate its effects, instead choosing to continue punishing migrants when they made it to the United States in lieu of helping them at home. But punishing migrants was a strategy that was already well underway by the time Juan and José were faced with a life-changing decision.