U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has been detaining thousands of children in horrendous conditions (though even if conditions were better, it would still be wrong) in cages at the U.S.-Mexico border. These kids are often kept without enough food, water, or medical care for weeks on end, all while separated from their parents. Kids resort to taking care of one another. Since October, seven children have died in Border Patrol custody.
Still, some people turn a blind eye to the horrors happening in these jails.
Now, in a video project compiled by The New York Times, New York kids are reading testimonies from detained kids. The testimonies were originally given to lawyers who visited the Border Patrol centers last month as part of their investigation into whether these spaces are “safe and sanitary,” as required under the terms of the Flores settlement. Children held in these jails report going without toothbrushes, showers, and even beds.
There are many (all equally awful) factors at play here: racist, hateful immigration policies instituted by the Trump administration, as well as the Department of Homeland Security not actually transferring detained children when they’re supposed to. Unaccompanied kids are trapped in a backed-up system, as are those who have been separated from their parents or guardians. Cruel, terrifying, and unnecessary, all around.