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The number of migrant children locked up by the federal government has surged by more than 20 percent and left designated detention facilities at near-capacity, following new, barbaric Trump administration policy ripping kids from the arms of their parents at the U.S./Mexico border:
Although the government has not disclosed how many children have been separated from their parents as a result of the new measures, the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that it had 10,773 migrant children in its custody, up from 8,886 on April 29.
Children kidnapped from their parents are placed in “an existing network of approximately 100 shelters in 14 states” run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—and those are now quickly filling up with frightened, confused children who should be with their parents:
Those shelters are at 95 percent capacity, an HHS official said Tuesday, and the agency is preparing to add potentially thousands of new bed spaces in the coming weeks. HHS also is exploring the possibility of housing children on military bases but views the measure as a “last option,” according to the HHS official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the agency’s preparations.
An internment camp for brown kids disguised as a military base is still an internment camp for brown kids. “It’s as bad as anything I’ve seen in 25-plus years of doing this work,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “Little kids are begging and screaming not to be taken from parents, and they’re hauled off. Parents are telling their older kids, ‘Be brave, be brave.’”
The safest place for kids is with their families and in supportive communities. Yet this barbaric policy has resulted in 2,000 children as young as 53 weeks being torn from parents and thrust into an abusive system that is wholly unfit to care for them. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago School of Law, have run over, punched and sexually abused children:
In one complaint we obtained, a Border Patrol agent grabbed a girl he claimed was running away, handcuffed her to someone else and dragged them together along the ground, causing “two bruises on her neck, scratches to her shoulders and arms, and thorns in her head.” A 16-year-old recounted that a Border Patrol agent threw him down before he used his boot to smash his head into the ground.
Other children allege that agents assaulted them with their feet, fists, flashlights, and Tasers. In one case, an agent ran over a 17-year-old with a patrol vehicle and then got out and punched the child in the head and body. Often, children noted that other agents witnessed the abuse or saw the injuries but refused them medical attention. In one case, agents accused a pregnant minor of lying about the pain — which turned out to be labor contractions preceding a stillbirth.
In immigration detention, kids—already traumatized from being torn from their parents—face dire conditions and inadequate care fitting their needs. When 10-year-old Rosamaria Hernandez was stalked and detained by Border Patrol following emergency gallbladder surgery last year, government officials blocked her from accessing post-operative care:
When Rosa was discharged, Border Patrol officers violated doctor's orders to return the child to her family and instead took her to a child housing facility in San Antonio operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. According to the Hernandez family attorney Leticia Gonzalez, Rosa's discharge papers read: "Rosa Hernandez is a post-operative patient with cerebral palsy and developmental delay. In the best interest of the patient, it is recommended that the patient be discharged to a family member that is familiar with her medical and psychological needs." Gonzalez said the discharge papers also directed Rosa Maria to "follow up with her primary care doctor within three days [of surgery] and then return to Dr. Haroon Patel [the child's surgeon] in Laredo on November 2, 2017."
According to The Washington Post, “in recent months, the average time children spent at HHS shelters increased from 51 to 56 days, according to the agency’s latest statistics.” Fifty-six days without seeing your parents, all because John Kelly wants to send a message to families who have valid asylum claims. “Here they’re doing zero-tolerance policy to punish families and send a message to their home countries: don’t do this,” said Wendy Young of the advocacy group Kids in Need of Defense:
Trump officials also gave new details Tuesday about an agreement between HHS and the Department of Homeland Security that immigrant advocates warn could further increase the number of children in federal custody and how long they stay there.
The agreement will give Homeland Security more access to the personal information of parents, relatives or other adult sponsors seeking custody of the children.
In the past, that information was largely walled off for the purposes of immigration enforcement while the sponsors were vetted by HHS, out of a concern that Homeland Security’s involvement could have a “chilling effect” on parents living in the country illegally and discourage them from claiming the kids.
Every day, this anti-immigrant immigration system intentionally tears families apart—but we can act. Soon, Congress will be considering increased funding for Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—the agencies tearing apart these families—despite billions of our tax dollars already going to fund this mass deportation force. We need to be loud. Contact your members of Congress and demand they defund ICE and Border Patrol and support legislation keeping families together.