3 graphs that explain Trump’s dilemma on the border

Washington CNN — President Donald Trump’s now-reversed “zero-tolerance” policy to prosecute parents who illegally cross the border with their children did not come out of thin air. A federal judge this week strongly rebuffed the administration’s attempt to roll back the court settlement, calling it “cynical” and “without merit.” Judge Dolly Gee called the government’s argument that an increase in families at the border had come because of the earlier settlement “dubious” and unconvincing,” rejecting it. “Any number of other factors could have caused the increase in illegal border crossings, including civil strife, economic degradation, and fear of death in the migrants’ home countries,” she wrote. It’s a mixed flow of countries, it’s a mixed flow of demographics because it’s not just adult men, and it’s a mixed flow of reasons for coming because it’s not just economic migrants, it’s a lot of people fleeing violence as well.” That has resulted in a sharp uptick in asylum claims in the US, which has bogged down the immigration courts that judge whether an immigrant has the right to stay in the country.