US could be holding 30,000 border kids by August, by Anna Giaritelli.

The Trump administration could be holding 30,000 illegal immigrant children by the end of August as a result of its push to enforce federal immigration laws, which has led to the separation of children from their parents and guardians as those adults are prosecuted.

A senior administration official who asked not to be identified said the Department of Health and Human Services has been taking in about 250 children per day in recent weeks. HHS is the agency that is taking in children when they are separated from their families.

The HHS official said as of Friday, HHS was already holding 11,500 children. …

The Trump administration has defended the policy by saying illegal immigrants need to know that if they try entering the U.S., they will be prosecuted, which could lead to separation from their children. Officials have said U.S. citizens face the same risk when they commit crimes.

But administration officials have also said they support a change to the federal law that requires prosecution and family separation, and have blamed Democrats for current law.

Child separation from illegal immigrants has suddenly become a big issue in the US. Why? John Hinderaker explains this important dynamic:

Let’s start with the fact that Democrats are desperate. Republican economic policies, pursued by the Trump administration and enacted by the Republican Congress, have our economy humming along at a historic rate. Overseas, the Trump administration has moved to advance America’s trade interests and to neutralize some of the principal threats against us, including that from North Korea.

What is a loyal Democrat to do? Change the subject. Hence the obsession, which has blown up over the past few days, with the alleged separation of parents from their children at the country’s Southern border.

Some questions seem to be infrequently asked. What families are we talking about? Why are they at the Southern border in the first place? How long does the alleged separation last, and what is the reason for it? What were the policies of past administrations? Instead, we have seen an over-the-top attack on the Trump administration, and Republicans in general. Although, as far as I can tell, the photos of children in cages date from the Obama era.