DISAPPEARED CHILDREN Applying International Law Regarding Enforced Disappearances to United States Family Separation Policy

In April 2018, in the United States, the Trump administration, through their Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the time, announced a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal entry at the southwest border of the United States. This policy started continued enforcement that purposefully, forcibly, separates children from their parents as a “deterrent.” In addition to the deliberate separation of children from migrant and asylum seeking parents, when this policy was devised and implemented, there were no plans to reunify families or keep track of the children in the government custody. Reports of children being lost in the system due to forcible separations happening without adequate, traceable records, and the psychological effects caused by the conditions of confinement and prolonged or indefinite detention show the lasting damage caused by this policy. This Article will outline briefly how international law has addressed the issue of family separation in the past and additionally analyze how the policy of governmental forced, intentional separation of children from their parents is similar to enforced disappearances perpetrated by the government. By looking at the history of enforced disappearances and the current international human rights laws to address the practice, additional methods of international intervention are possible to stop the policy of family separation.