It was never about any of those things, it certainly was never about what is in the country's interest. It was always blind racism. In the very speech where trump announced his candidacy: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

This is a blanket statement about ALL mexican immigrants, and "you" refers to his entirely white base of supporters. The administration set up deliberately cruel and trauma-inducing family separations out of hatred, just as these policies are born out of hate. When backwards people talk about "illegals," they are never talking about people's legal immigration status, it's shorthand for race.