[318]
The policy of family separations was unprecedented in previous administrations and sparked public outrage.[318][319] Trump falsely asserted that his administration was merely following the law, blaming Democrats, despite the separations being his administration's policy.[320][321][322]
Although Trump originally argued that the separations could not be stopped by an executive order, he signed an executive order on June 20, 2018, mandating that migrant families be detained together, unless the administration judged that doing so would harm the child.[323][324] On June 26, 2018, a federal judge concluded that the Trump administration had "no system in place to keep track of" the separated children, nor any effective measures for family communication and reunification;[325] the judge ordered for the families to be reunited, and family separations stopped, except where the parent(s) are judged unfit to take care of the child, or if there is parental approval.[326] Despite the federal court order, the Trump administration continued to practice family separations, with more than a thousand migrant children separated.[315]

Trump wall and government shutdown
Main articles: Trump wall and 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown
Trump examines border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa, California.
