Father commits suicide after Trump’s new policy took his family away

A father separated from his wife and child under Trump’s harsh new border separation policy has committed suicide.

Marco Antonio Muñoz killed himself while in custody in a Texas jail, days after the Trump administration activated its “zero tolerance” approach to border crossings.

Under this new policy, families crossing the border are prosecuted, which triggers the separation of those families. Children are ripped away from their mothers and fathers in an unthinkably cruel way that has not been done before.

Trump has referred to undocumented immigrants as “animals” and rapists to justify the harsh approach to a mostly Latino group of people.

By contrast, he referred to supporters of a pro-Nazi protest where one woman was killed as “very fine people.”

The Washington Post relays from Border Patrol agents that Muñoz crossed the border on May 12 with his wife and 3-year-old son.

They were taken into custody and said they wanted to apply for asylum. After the Patrol told Muñoz his family would be separated, he “lost it,” according to an agent.

The agent noted, “They had to use physical force to take the child out of his hands.”

He was placed in a chain-link detention cell, where he punched the metal and shook it violently.

He was then moved to another facility in a van, yelling and kicking at the windows along the way.

Muñoz was placed in a padded cell, where he was found dead the following morning. The guard said he had “a piece of clothing twisted around his neck which was tied to the drainage location in the center of the cell.”

Families escaping harsh conditions are seeking refuge in America. Many of them face lawless situations where murderous gangs threaten them, in addition to harsh economic conditions and repressive governments.

After going through an already traumatic and long journey, the new Trump policy is separating those families on arrival.

The separation has enormous psychological effects on the children, as well as the rest of the family.

Trump authorized Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put the harsh new policy in place, then tried to blame Democrats as it continued to backfire.

Meanwhile congressional Republicans have refused to do anything to reform the immigration system, fearing backlash from Trump and his racist base.

Families are in crisis and being pushed beyond the brink — and it can be traced directly to the actions of Trump and his Republican allies.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.