evidence: In spring 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a pilot program in El Paso, Texas,9 to systematically separate hundreds of children from their parents at the border. Many children were separated as a result of a new effort to criminally charge parents with illegal entry into the United States or reentry after removal, but children also were separated from parents who came to a port of entry to request asylum and could not, therefore, be criminally prosecuted.10 The goal of the policy was to deliver a clear message of deterrence to future border crossers—regardless of whether they were fleeing persecution or had other grounds to request protection under federal law—that the United States would no longer adhere to law or basic human decency in its treatment of families seeking refuge. [...] While the issue largely slipped from public consciousness for a period of time, more than 1,000 additional families were separated even after the executive order and federal court injunction.22 In fact, the consequences of the Trump administration’s family separation policy continue even to this day. Just days before the final presidential debate in October 2020, a status report filed with the court overseeing the class-action lawsuit revealed that organizations working to locate and reunite separated families—almost entirely without the federal government’s help—were unable to even make contact with 545 parents of separated children.23