Witnessing “Separated,” Errol Morris’s latest documentary, is like watching a slow-motion train wreck. I recently watched it at the Nuart Theatre, where Jacob Soboroff and Errol Morris led a Q&A after the film, diving into the purpose behind creating the piece. The film hones in on the Trump administration’s infamous family separation policy, which tore thousands of children from their parents at the Mexico-United States border. It is gut-wrenching, leaving you angry and confused, but also asking, “How did we get here, and why haven’t we learned?”
Is this mess solely Trump’s doing? Spoiler alert: not entirely.
This film, based on Jacob Soboroff’s book “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” paints a vivid picture of the human cost of the United States’ “zero tolerance” immigration policy. In 2018, the US Department of Justice declared that every adult illegally crossing the Mexico-US border would be criminally prosecuted. Since children couldn’t be detained in the same facilities as adults, under the pretense of child safety concerns, they were forcibly separated from their parents, held in detention centers or placed in foster care. Families who attempted to cross were left traumatized and shattered, with many children still not reunited with their parents to this day. The cruelty was justified as a crime deterrent. If ripping families apart means “illegal aliens” won’t come to the U.S. and “disrupt” the lives of American citizens, then it’s okay, right?
Whatever your general feelings on immigration, it’s hard to imagine you could be a sane, sensible person and support this cruelty. The separation system resulted in significant psychological suffering for thousands of children. It’s one thing to have strict border enforcement, but weaponizing the separation of children from their parents to “send a message” and scare away “illegal aliens” is another level of inhumanity.
But let’s not kid ourselves — this isn’t a villain origin story, where Trump suddenly dreamed up an evil immigration plot in his golden tower. This is an immigration tale, decades in the making, with every administration since Bill Clinton’s contributing to the development of detrimental policies.
Clinton’s 1996 immigration law introduced harsh penalties for illegal immigration. Bush then followed up this policy by ramping up border security post 9/11, and Obama deported more people than any president in U.S. history. Did Obama’s team separate families? Not intentionally, but many critics argue that his administration’s policies, like holding families in detention centers, were the warm-up act to Trump’s main horror show.
The documentary doesn’t dig too deeply into this history, but we should. Sure, Trump’s policy sparked outrage, but the system allowed it to happen. The complex web of laws, deterrence strategies, and enforcement priorities were put into place by both democratic and republican parties over decades.
Biden has made progress, reuniting over 500 separated children with their parents. However, even Biden has kept certain deterrence measures. Title 42, launched by Trump’s administration and continued under Biden’s presidency, allowed the U.S. government to bypass regular immigration and asylum procedures to expel migrants at the border, all under the guise of public health during COVID-19. So while things have improved, the ghosts of zero tolerance linger.
“Separated” delivers the emotional punch, particularly when spotlighting families’ heartbreaking stories on the screen, no question, but it’s also a reminder that real change doesn’t come from ousting one administration. It comes from dismantling a system that, for years, has treated immigrants like pawns in a political game. The fight against harmful policies begins with holding elected officials accountable, pushing for humane reforms and supporting organizations that advocate for immigrant rights.
Until we confront the deeper roots of these policies, we’ll continue to see the same tragic pattern play out. So yes, watch “Separated.” Get angry. But then, look deeper, because this story is shaped by more than one villain.
