Immigration laws were passed in America over the past few decades without proper accounting for either the moral implications or the practical enforcement of the laws themselves. Very recently the current administration put pressure on law enforcement to follow closer the letter of the law, and being unprepared to do so many government agencies (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), resulting in unethical action such as separating a large number of immigrant children and placing them in under-provisioned detention centers like prisoners.

Both major political parties have used the situation to attack the others, the conflict itself being a large historical talking point in US politics on all levels, local, state, and federal.