If a child is pulled away from their parents to never see them again their parents need not be dead, they are still orphaned.
The border laws most certainly have been changed. We NEVER sent parents back without children, EVER! First and foremost, beyond our need to protect our borders, was the need to protect the family unit. We've lost our morality.
If you want to stop parents with children from coming, change the asylum laws. I have no problem with that and realize the system isn't working. Separating families as a deterrent, is no way to run the greatest country on earth. It's embarrassing. Building a wall in no way, changes the asylum laws or fixes the problem. It is you who is not thinking.