DHS chief: Agency may separate parents, children at border

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department is considering separating children from parents caught crossing the Mexican border illegally, Secretary John Kelly said today.

Kelly said such a move would be part of a broader effort to discourage families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to the U.S. border.

He confirmed that he's considering the action during an interview with CNN. The plan had previously been reported by several news outlets.

Tens of thousands of parents and children fleeing violence and poverty, mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, have been caught crossing the border illegally in recent years. Generally, the families are detained for a few days or weeks before being released into the United States to wait for an immigration judge to decide their fate.

"I would do almost anything to deter the people from Central America getting on this very, very dangerous network ... going through Mexico," Kelly said during his television interview.

Homeland Security officials have been trying to curb the flow of families since 2014 when a flood of both children and families overwhelmed immigration officials. The department launched a public-relations campaign in Central America to warn about the dangers and advise families that there would be no free pass into the United States.