In April 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a "zero tolerance policy", requiring the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute every single person caught crossing the border illegally. This is in contrast to the policy of previous Administrations, under which only some people caught crossing the border illegally would be criminally prosecuted, and the rest just went through civil deportation proceedings. This resulted in large numbers of children being separated from their parents. The family separations were eventually ended (though not all separated families were reunited). But my question is, is the zero tolerance policy still in effect?
In June 2018, then-Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan announced that CBP was no longer going to make criminal referrals of people caught crossing the border illegally if they come along with their family. And then-White House Press Secretary Sarah-Huckabee Sanders said this was just a temporary halt.
But how does the situation stand today? Is the DOJ still criminally prosecuting every single person caught crossing the border illegally, or only some people caught crossing the border illegally like previous Administrations did?