Fact check: What was the legal basis for family separations under Obama versus Trump administrations?

1. Summary of the results

The key distinction between the two administrations lies in their policy approaches. Under Obama, family separations occurred but were not a systematic policy ^[1]. Separations were limited to specific circumstances such as suspected child trafficking or inability to verify family relationships ^[1]. In contrast, the Trump administration implemented a "zero tolerance" policy that criminally prosecuted all border crossings, which automatically led to family separations because children cannot be held in adult detention facilities ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements need to be considered:

• The Obama administration did threaten to use family separation in legal arguments defending family detention ^[3]. They presented three options when apprehending families: detention, separation, or notice to appear ^[3].
• The Trump administration essentially implemented what the Obama administration had only discussed as a theoretical consequence ^[3].
• Under both Bush and Obama administrations, the standard practice was to either:
• Keep families in detention together
• Use alternatives to detention that kept families unified ^[1]
• During Obama's tenure, separations were specifically limited to cases involving:
• Drug trafficking
• Other serious criminal activity
• Inability to verify familial relationships ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself might suggest a false equivalency between the two administrations' approaches. While both administrations did separate families, treating them as comparable policies would be misleading because:

• The scale and intent were fundamentally different. Obama-era separations were exceptional cases ^[1], while Trump-era separations were systematic by design ^[2].
• The legal basis shifted from a case-by-case approach under Obama to a blanket policy under Trump ^[1].
• Those who benefit from equating the two approaches might include:
• Political operatives seeking to normalize the "zero tolerance" policy
• Those attempting to deflect criticism of the Trump administration's immigration policies
• Immigration hardliners who support stricter enforcement regardless of administration

The key distinction is that while both administrations had the legal authority to separate families, the Trump administration uniquely chose to make it a systematic practice through the "zero tolerance" policy ^[2].