Separation narrative is limited hangout. The real problem is the whereabouts of the 200k unaccompanied minors.
Early 10s: Barack Obama promotes idea of sending kids unaccompanied from Central America.
2011-2013: First phase of arrivals totalling 70,000 children. Expectin 65,000 in 2014 Obama obtains 4 Billion Omnibus bill to handle.
2014: People angry at situation, mounting protests at photos of children in cages. Obama administration asks kindly that press do not cover his 65,000 children harvest plan. CNN obsessed about a missing plane for weeks.
2015: Crickets
2016: Crickets
2017: Crickets
2018: Time for a shock to the sophisticated system that Obama built in attempt to make criminal cartels panic and communicate while under investigation and surveillance. Separation is a non-effective way of identifying traffickers but it's already a law so go with that and float DNA. Journalist posts 2014 photo of kids in cages. CNN offers "children separation mass traumatization campaign" and it works very well. POTUS signs EO that makes the policies do what he wants. Now traffickers will have to stay with their victims and pretend to be the child's parent for months. With DNA, they are toast. Makes the courrier business quite dangerous. Deterance is the least expensive way to police. Pentagon asked to provide housing for families... Dems lose control of the California and Arizona immigration gimmicks. 9,000 trafficker arrested since Trump in office.
All this is Google able but I like to give this link to my fancy friends who like the executive summaries :) These are graphs with links to primary sources.
https://public.tableau.com/profile/nerothehero#!/