--- title: The Family Separation Policy Is Torture, by Jorge Ramos description: Univision anchor Jorge Ramos argues that President Trump's policy of separating migrant families is 'unimaginable cruelty.' canonical: https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/ author: Jorge Ramos article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T18:20:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:40:11.834Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Jorge Ramos: Yes, the Family Separation Policy Is Torture og:description: 'It is ethically wrong to put children in cages.' og:url: https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394b809e741f9b12/698933570a4a2204ef9d2fdd/propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6720 og:image:height: 3780 og:image:alt: propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jorge Ramos: Yes, the Family Separation Policy Is Torture twitter:description: 'It is ethically wrong to put children in cages.' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394b809e741f9b12/698933570a4a2204ef9d2fdd/propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jorge Ramos: Yes, the Family Separation Policy Is Torture > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=78e10735-9f1b-4095-af0f-22889af28076&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=78e10735-9f1b-4095-af0f-22889af28076&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=78e10735-9f1b-4095-af0f-22889af28076&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Jorge Ramos](https://time.com/author/jorge-ramos/) ## Jorge Ramos Jun 20, 2018 6:20 PM UTC  Central American immigrant families depart ICE custody, pending future immigration court hearings on June 11, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Thousands of undocumented immigrants continue to cross into the U.S., despite the Trump administration's recent "zero tolerance" approach to immigration policy. Central American immigrant families depart ICE custody, pending future immigration court hearings on June 11, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Thousands of undocumented immigrants continue to cross into the U.S., despite the Trump administration's recent "zero tolerance" approach to immigration policy.John Moore - Getty Images by [Jorge Ramos](https://time.com/author/jorge-ramos/) ## Jorge Ramos Jun 20, 2018 6:20 PM UTC At this point we are beyond the moral indignation. It is ethically wrong to put children in cages, it doesn’t matter where they come from. But I wonder if the end result would have been the same if there were American kids in cages and chain link fences instead of children from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It seems that Donald Trump does not believe all children are equal. [There is no law that required the president of the United States to separate families](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/), a fact he finally acknowledged as he prepared to [change his own policy yet again](http://time.com/5317269/family-separation-policy-donald-trump-pause/). A simple phone call could have stopped this child abuse practice that has separated more than 2,300 minors from their parents weeks ago. The cruelty is unimaginable. The Mexican Foreign Minister, Luis Videgaray, reported that a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome was separated from her mother for days. But most children at detention centers in the United States are from Central America. I spoke with a mother from El Salvador, Elena Martínez, who [hadn’t seen her 11-year-old son for more than a month](https://youtu.be/FkZADcMT4%5F8). She was with an ankle monitor in Houston while his son was kept at a detention center in California. She had no idea when they would see each other again. So let’s be very clear, this is torture. Article 1 of the [United Nations’ Convention Against Torture](https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx) defines torture as “any act by which pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for (…) punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed…” This is precisely what the Trump Administration has done with its “zero-tolerance” policy at the border. They are separating families as a deterrent and punishing kids for the actions taken by their parents. And that’s precisely the definition of torture. (The U.S. signed the Convention against Torture in 1988 and ratified it in 1994.) The [audio released by ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/children-separated-from-parents-border-patrol-cbp-trump-immigration-policy) of children crying and calling for their parents is the best evidence we have, so far, of the suffering inflicted by an elected government on minors from other countries. Diplomacy and patience are not an option when children are suffering from life-changing traumas. Pope Francis called it “immoral.” And Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist presidential candidate who is leading the polls in Mexico, described Trump’s new policies as “racists.” (If he wins on July 1, don’t expect another weak and spineless president like Enrique Peña Nieto.) The Trump Administration is also in violation of Article 9 of the [Convention on the Rights of the Child](https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx) (signed by the U.S. in 1995). The treaty establishes that “a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will…” I do understand that families applying for political asylum have to go through a lengthy and complex judicial process. But there is no reason to separate them. They could be kept together, for brief periods, in shelters or be released until their day in court. The problem is that Donald Trump doesn’t want to. There’s no easy solution to our immigration problems. Since the amnesty of 1986, we haven’t been able to find common ground on how to deal with millions of undocumented foreigners. But to put children in cages is not the answer. The first step should be to stop the torture of kids. Nations are judged, not by the way they treat the rich and powerful, but how they deal with the most vulnerable. Destroy the cages, reunite all the children with their parents and get ready for a very painful conversation. We need an intervention. Do we really want to be a country known around the world for torturing children? We require a much more realistic immigration policy. The refugees showing up at our Southern border would rather go through hell — namely, the U.S. immigration system — than risk the rape of their daughters or the possibility of their sons being recruited by gangs like MS-13. Think about it, what would you do? Of course, not all of them are fleeing violence and political persecution. For generations, poverty has been a pretty good incentive to go north. And that is not going to change when we have jobs for them in the U.S. and they can make in an hour what they used to earn in a day or two. To tell you the truth, I don’t think we are going to be able to reach any kind of immigration consensus while Donald Trump is at the White House. The country is too polarized. So Plan B is already under way (and that is to resist until 2020). But we cannot remain silent when our government is torturing children. Silence, in this case, is complicity. And I want to be able to look my children in the eyes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/"},"headline":"Jorge Ramos: Yes, the Family Separation Policy Is Torture","datePublished":"2018-06-20T18:20:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:40:11.834Z","description":"Univision anchor Jorge Ramos argues that President Trump's policy of separating migrant families is 'unimaginable cruelty.'","url":"https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/","keywords":["Immigration","Donald Trump","family separation policy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394b809e741f9b12/698933570a4a2204ef9d2fdd/propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jorge Ramos","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jorge-ramos/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt394b809e741f9b12/698933570a4a2204ef9d2fdd/propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"propublica-audio-inside-border-patrol-children-crying.jpg","caption":"Undocumented Immigrants Go To Court For Deportation Hearings","creditText":"John Moore - Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5317551/family-separation-policy-torture/","name":"Jorge Ramos: Yes, the Family Separation Policy Is Torture"}}]}] ```