Obama ICE did separate families if parents were criminally charged with something. Evidence of this is so easy to find, even partisan hacks can do it. It's just that under Trump illegal border crossings became criminal, rather than civil, offences. You can't take your kids to jail with you even if you aren't Mexican, hence the "separations". This is super easy to avoid: don't cross the border illegally. The much publicized "cages", however, were built under Obama. Nobody gave a shit back then. About 1K people were deported daily. I predict that more people will be deported under Biden as well, because it's not "racist" or "xenophobic" for a democrat to deport 400K people a year.

The whole issue of crossing the border being a "misdemeanor" is idiotic IMO. I grew up in a country where it's a felony, and you'd be lucky to not get shot if you cross the border illegally in either direction. If a country is to maintain its sovereignty, that's how it has to be.

> It's just that under Trump illegal border crossings became criminal, rather than civil, offences.

The offense didn't change, it's just that the Trump administration started doing more Section 1325 prosecutions[1]. The original law has been on the books since 1929, and IIRIRA in 1996 added a stronger penalty for reentry.

For decades prior to 2005, this law was hardly used, but under the George W. Bush administration, "Operation Streamline," a DHS/DOJ program still in effect today, began to use it.

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325

It was criminal under Obama too. No laws were changed under the Trump admin. People are just unrealistic and delusional about how to manage an immigration system, and certain politicians like to make disingenuous arguments for personal gain.

Most people complaining about family separation don’t even seem to be aware of the fact that it doesn’t apply if you’re a legal asylum seeker. It only applies if you’re caught breaking immigration law with some coyote (many of whom routinely traffic and rape children, or worse).