If this sounds familiar, it’s because something similar happened during the first Trump administration. In 2018, under the so-called zero tolerance policy, immigration agents tore families apart as they crossed the US-Mexico border, detaining parents and transferring their children to ORR custody. One of ORR’s responsibilities is to place unaccompanied kids in shelters, group homes, or foster care until they can be released to sponsors, who are often relatives. Historically, these arrangements were never intended for children who arrived *with* parents, but Trump’s advisers [wagered](https\://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/09/trump-administration-family-separation-policy-immigration/670604/) that separating families would deter new migrants from making the trip. The zero-tolerance policy made national headlines and was denounced on both sides of the political aisle as inhumane, and a federal court eventually [ruled it illegal](https\://www.propublica.org/article/children-separated-from-parents-border-patrol-cbp-trump-immigration-policy).