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The Trump administration is preparing to detain immigrant children on military bases, according to email communications from the Defense Department. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
In 'Deliberately Cruel' Assault on Rights, Trump's DHS Plans to Detain Immigrant Children on Military Bases
"These used to be called internment camps."
May 16, 2018
In a step toward separating families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the Trump administration is preparing to detain immigrant children on military bases, according to the Defense Department.
According to the Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly evaluating three Air Force bases and one Army base, all located in Arkansas and Texas, over the next two weeks to determine whether the facilities could be used to house thousands of children who are expected to cross the border--with and without parents and guardians--in the coming months. According to DHS, families with minors make up about 40 percent of immigrants detained by border patrol agents.
As Clio Chang at Splinter News wrote, "Donald Trump's administration has been arresting so many families--many of whom are Central Americans looking for asylum--that Health and Human Services is running out of space in its foster care facilities" for children.
The Obama administration previously used military bases to hold children who were detained by DHS, detaining about 7,000 minors over several months in Oklahoma, Texas, and California in 2014.
The Trump administration's plans to separate children from their parents has drawn widespread condemnation, with the National Immigration Law Center calling the plan "inhumane" and "shameful" earlier this month.
On social media, critics expressed anger over DHS's planned use of military facilities as detention centers for "warehousing" children and raised grave concerns over the long-term impact of forced detention and separation on families who are arriving in the U.S. to seek asylum.
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In a step toward separating families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the Trump administration is preparing to detain immigrant children on military bases, according to the Defense Department.
According to the Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly evaluating three Air Force bases and one Army base, all located in Arkansas and Texas, over the next two weeks to determine whether the facilities could be used to house thousands of children who are expected to cross the border--with and without parents and guardians--in the coming months. According to DHS, families with minors make up about 40 percent of immigrants detained by border patrol agents.
As Clio Chang at Splinter News wrote, "Donald Trump's administration has been arresting so many families--many of whom are Central Americans looking for asylum--that Health and Human Services is running out of space in its foster care facilities" for children.
The Obama administration previously used military bases to hold children who were detained by DHS, detaining about 7,000 minors over several months in Oklahoma, Texas, and California in 2014.
The Trump administration's plans to separate children from their parents has drawn widespread condemnation, with the National Immigration Law Center calling the plan "inhumane" and "shameful" earlier this month.
On social media, critics expressed anger over DHS's planned use of military facilities as detention centers for "warehousing" children and raised grave concerns over the long-term impact of forced detention and separation on families who are arriving in the U.S. to seek asylum.
In a step toward separating families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the Trump administration is preparing to detain immigrant children on military bases, according to the Defense Department.
According to the Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly evaluating three Air Force bases and one Army base, all located in Arkansas and Texas, over the next two weeks to determine whether the facilities could be used to house thousands of children who are expected to cross the border--with and without parents and guardians--in the coming months. According to DHS, families with minors make up about 40 percent of immigrants detained by border patrol agents.
As Clio Chang at Splinter News wrote, "Donald Trump's administration has been arresting so many families--many of whom are Central Americans looking for asylum--that Health and Human Services is running out of space in its foster care facilities" for children.
The Obama administration previously used military bases to hold children who were detained by DHS, detaining about 7,000 minors over several months in Oklahoma, Texas, and California in 2014.
The Trump administration's plans to separate children from their parents has drawn widespread condemnation, with the National Immigration Law Center calling the plan "inhumane" and "shameful" earlier this month.
On social media, critics expressed anger over DHS's planned use of military facilities as detention centers for "warehousing" children and raised grave concerns over the long-term impact of forced detention and separation on families who are arriving in the U.S. to seek asylum.
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