Fact check: Did family separation practices change between different presidential administrations?

1. Summary of the results

Yes, family separation practices definitively changed between different presidential administrations. The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that the Trump administration implemented a fundamentally different approach to border enforcement compared to previous administrations.

The Trump Administration's "Zero Tolerance" Policy:

• The Trump administration implemented a "zero tolerance" policy that resulted in the separation of over 5,000 children from their parents at the border ^[1]
• This policy led to the separation of thousands of children from their families, with many cases constituting what Human Rights Watch characterized as potential torture and enforced disappearance ^[2]
• The policy was not a continuation of Obama-era practices but represented a new, deliberate approach to family separation ^{[3] [4]}

Obama Administration Practices:

• The Obama administration did not have a family separation policy as a matter of standard practice ^[4]
• When families were detained, the Obama administration typically detained families together rather than separating them ^{[3] [5]}
• While the Obama administration faced criticism for family detention practices, these were fundamentally different from systematic family separation ^[5]

Biden Administration Continuation:

• Family separations have continued under the Biden administration, though in more limited circumstances ^[6]
• Around 300 children were separated from their parents in 2023 and 2024, with some cases involving national security concerns ^[6]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Legal and Ongoing Consequences:

• A federal judge prohibited family separations at the US border for 8 years following legal challenges to the Trump administration's practices ^[7]
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been actively involved in legal efforts to stop family separation and reunite separated families ^[8]
• A class action settlement was reached in 2023 that established new criteria to limit future family separations ^[9]

Systemic Implementation Issues:

• The Trump administration misled the world about its family separation policy implementation ^[10]
• Hundreds of parents and children separated under the zero-tolerance policy remain at risk of being separated again due to lapses in legal services ^[11]
• Many separated children remain unaccounted for, indicating significant administrative failures in tracking and reunification efforts ^[2]

Beneficiaries of Different Narratives:

• Immigration enforcement agencies and contractors benefit from policies that expand detention and processing operations
• Legal advocacy organizations like the ACLU gain prominence and funding through high-profile cases challenging family separation
• Political figures from both parties use family separation issues to advance their immigration policy agendas

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself contains no apparent misinformation or bias - it is a straightforward factual inquiry about policy changes between administrations. However, the question's neutral framing might obscure several important considerations:

Understated Severity:

• The question doesn't capture the scale and systematic nature of the Trump administration's family separation policy, which affected thousands of families ^{[1] [2]}
• It fails to convey the lasting harm and potential human rights violations involved in these separations ^[2]

Ongoing Nature of the Issue:

• The question implies this is a historical matter, but family separations continue under the Biden administration, albeit under different circumstances and at a much smaller scale ^[6]
• The question doesn't acknowledge that reunification efforts are still ongoing and that some families remain separated ^[11]

Policy vs. Practice Distinction:

• The question doesn't distinguish between official policy changes and practical implementation differences, which is crucial for understanding how the Obama administration's family detention differed from the Trump administration's systematic separation approach ^{[3] [5]}