For some officials, Trump-era family separation policy was a “success” worth bringing back

In the absence of congressional action to reform America’s immigration policies, cruelty has been the main deterrent strategy to prevent foreigners from attempting to enter the country. That was the main point of the Trump-era Zero Tolerance policy, which separated more than 5,000 migrant children from their parents at the southern border over the course of 18 months. That policy was widely rebuked, but there are officials still employed by the American government who “believe very strongly” in the “success of Zero Tolerance.” Journalist Caitlin Dickerson just published a behemoth investigation about the Zero Tolerance policy for ‘The Atlantic,’ and she says “there’s no question” these policies will return during a different administration. “I did countless interviews and there was nobody who said maybe…we would go a little bit softer or we would try to work more with Congress,” Dickerson tells Ali Velshi. “They are ready to hit the ground running.”