2,000 children have been separated from their parents at the US/Mexican border, DHS confirms

May was the third month in a row that more than 50,000 people at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration" target="_blank">southern border</a>&nbsp;either were caught trying to illegally enter the U.S. or were denied entry.The Department of Homeland Security apprehended almost 40,400 people who tried to cross into the U.S. illegally in May. And about 11,500 people trying to cross at ports of entry were denied admission.Presidential administrations often use these numbers to judge if illegal border crossings are on the rise. Arrests were declining during part of President Donald Trump&#39;s first year in office but have mostly gone up since April 2017.And that has reportedly upset the president. So much so that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/us/politics/trump-homeland-security-secretary-resign.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported last month that Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security, nearly resigned after Trump berated her over the issue.Illegal immigration has been one of the Trump administration&#39;s top priorities.&nbsp;<a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHS/bulletins/1f56e23" target="_blank">In a statement</a>, Homeland Security said it didn&#39;t expect to be able to &quot;reverse years of political inaction overnight or in a month.&quot;<hr>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/mcconnell-questions-bill-to-check-trump-s-tariff-authority/">McConnell Questions Bill To Check Trump&#039;s Tariff Authority</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/some-consulate-employees-in-china-sent-to-us-after-illness/">Some Consulate Employees In China Sent To US After Strange Illness</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/2-top-aides-to-epa-head-scott-pruitt-resign/">2 Top Aides To EPA Head Scott Pruitt Resign Amid Growing Scrutiny</a></li></ul>

By: CNN

The US government has separated at least 2,000 children from parents at the border since implementing a policy that results in such family separations, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday.

From April 19 through May 31 of this year, 1,995 minors traveling with 1,940 adults who said they were the children's guardians were separated due to the policy, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters on a conference call.

The call was largely to defend the administration's decision to charge every adult caught crossing the border illegally with federal crimes, as opposed to referring those with children mainly to immigration courts, as previous administrations did. The officials used the opportunity, otherwise on the condition of anonymity, to accuse the press of spreading falsehoods about the policy.

Because the government is charging the parents in the criminal justice system, children are separated from them, with no clear procedure for their reunification aside from hotlines the parents can call to try to track their children down.

The policy to refer all adults for charges was publicly announced May 7, though the Justice Department announced it would prosecute 100% of the cases referred to it at the beginning of April.

On the call, Department of Homeland Security also said that prosecutions have more than doubled, but acknowledges they are not currently at 100%. Asked why they are prioritizing families in this effort as opposed to single adults, as they get closer to 100%, officials declined to explain how they choose whom to refer.

"We make decisions based on the ability to detain and the ability of courts to take these cases, but we no longer exempt categories or classes of individuals," a Department of Homeland Security official said.

"By and large, we are accepting nearly all of the referrals that we get from our counterparts at DHS, we continue to work with the federal judiciary on practical solutions to differing caps that they have," said a Justice Department official. "In terms of declining prosecution, we're not going to get into specifics."

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2,000 children have been separated from their parents at the US/Mexican border, DHS confirms

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