Friday, November 30, marks 127 days since a federal judge ordered the reunification of families torn apart at the southern border, yet children continue to remain under U.S. custody. But even kids freed from custody are still prisoners of their trauma. When seven-year-old Litzy was reunited with her mom after nearly four months, she kept asking her if “they coming to take me away again?”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration also has a record number of unaccompanied kids in detention, 14,000, including more than 2,300 in a prison camp in Tornillo, Texas. As the administration has only expanded this “temporary” prison camp, a government watchdog has revealed that officials waived FBI background checks for prison camp employees.
Donald Trump’s “immigration policies are far-reaching,” tweeted Human Rights First in a thread, “sometimes difficult to understand, and rooted in hate. But one thing seems to unite them all: a blatant, absolute disregard for the rights, safety, and well-being of children. Let us explain.”
“The administration left children to languish behind bars,” Human Rights First continued, “despite being briefed on the negative effects of incarceration on children. The American Academy of Pediatrics has repeatedly warned that detention results in psychological distress, PTSD, and suicidality.”
But when Trump officials were confronted with their own ridiculous statement and asked by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) if they’d send their kids to these so-called “summer camps,” they stammered and deflected and refused to answer the question, because they know damn well these “summer camps” are shitholes rife with human rights abuses.
“Right now, unaccompanied children are being held in detention facilities or living in tent cities due in part to potential sponsors’ fear of retribution from ICE for coming forward,” said U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, who along with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has introduced a bill protecting potential sponsors from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “This is an unacceptable obstacle to getting these children into a safe home, and we must fix it.”
"The few times they let me call my mom I would tell her that one day I would be free, but really I felt like I would be there for the rest of my life,” said a 17 year old who was jailed at Tornillo earlier this year. “I feel so bad for the kids who are still there. What if they have to spend Christmas there? They need a hug, and nobody is allowed to hug there." The administration is putting the thousands of kids still there at ongoing risk:
The administration is also targeting the U.S. citizen kids of immigrants, by terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrant parents, and also through a proposed “public charge regulation” seeking to block working parents who have legally accessed programs for their kids from a permanent home here. Submit a public comment opposing the rule change here.
“While the myriad of immigration news can be overwhelming,” Human Rights First continued, “this simple fact is true, the Trump Administration’s policies are devastatingly cruel to innocent children who traveled to the United States in search of protection,” as well as the U.S. citizen children of immigrants.
