Errol Morris examines migrant family separation with NBC News in ‘Separated’

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Filmmaker Errol Morris turned his lens toward the U.S. government’s border policies and family separation in the documentary “Separated,” which premiered at Thursday at the Venice Film Festival.

The Trump administration separated thousands of migrant parents from their children as it moved to criminally prosecute people for illegally crossing the Southwestern border. Minors, who could not be held in criminal custody with their parents, were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Facing strong opposition, Trump eventually reversed course in 2018, days before a federal judge in San Diego halted the practice and ordered immediate reunification in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

According to figures released by the Department of Homeland Security, 3,881 children were separated from their families from 2017 to 2021.

The film, which is not in competition at the festival, is based on journalist Jacob Soboroff’s book “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.” Morris, the Oscar-winning documentarian behind the Robert S. McNamara film “The Fog of War,” made “Separated” in collaboration with NBC News Studios, Participant, Fourth Floor and Moxie Pictures.

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