“The US should immediately halt this practice of separating families and stop criminalizing what should at most be an administrative offence – that of irregular entry or stay in the US,” UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing, Reuters reported.
Most crossing the US southern border are from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, where rampant violence would give them the right to international protection, UN refugee agency spokesman William Spindler said, adding: “Detention should be the last resort.”