On the cost argument: An estimated 3000 children have been separated from their parents at their border. Trumps retarded trade war necessitated a 12 billion dollar bailout for american farmers. If he didn't start a completely unnecessary and unjustified trade war with your allies, you could have bought every one of those children and their families 4 Bughatti Veyrons. The monetary cost is negligible.

The 20 day timeline is something that used to happen. The reason of course is that you can't detain people indefinitely without a fair trial based on human rights conventions. This is something that was ignored. The reunification was then court ordered after a massive public outcry, but they weren't able to meet it because they didn't even document which child belonged to which guardian, or they lost track of children completely.

When you go to jail, you have a reasonable expectations that the valuables you had on you when you got in will be returned to you when you get out. To have your child permanently taken from you for a misdemeanor charge (not even a conviction) can't possibly be defensible.
And no, when you are detained for a misdemeanor, they don't give your child up for adoption for you to never see it again. This is an absolutely retarded analogy.

Super easy question: if a canadian hikes over the US border with a child and they have no passports on them, should the border patrol apprehend them, give the child up for adoption and send the adult back to canada with no information on where his child is and no plans to ever reunite them?