SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A woman sits with her son at the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, shortly after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
'Sickening, Shameful, Heartless': With Trump Policies Sowing Fear Across Immigrant Communities, Number of Children in Detention Explodes to Record Levels
Thanks to Trump's crackdown, fewer immigrant families are coming forward to sponsor children who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border—leaving more than 12,000 minors in U.S. government custody
Sep 13, 2018
Immigrant rights advocates and lawmakers are demanding the Trump administration address the ongoing crisis caused by its rampant detention of children, after it was reported Wednesday that the number of minors being held in U.S. government custody is at its highest ever recorded--with President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies to blame.
According to data obtained by the New York Times, 12,800 children were being detained in immigrant detention facilities as of this month--five times as many as the 2,400 who were in government custody in the spring of 2017.
\u201cThere are five times as many kids in child detention centers now than there were a year ago.\n\nLet me repeat that. There are FIVE TIMES as many children locked up and separated from their families than at this time last year.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1536793683
The Trump administration has claimed that the exploding level of detentions is owed to record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border--but border crossings have in fact been declining for years.
Instead, the Times reported, a key reason behind the overflowing child detention centers is families' reluctance to come forward to sponsor the children there, thanks to the president's multi-pronged crackdown on immigration.
Most of the detained children entered the country without parents or guardians--with many planning to join family members who could sponsor them once they arrive.
But many family members--reportedly over fears over being detained or deported themselves--have increasingly declined to claim the children.
"Traditionally, most sponsors have been undocumented themselves, and therefore are wary of risking deportation by stepping forward to claim sponsorship of a child," wrote Caitlin Dickerson at the Times. "Even those who are willing to become sponsors have had to wait months to be fingerprinted and otherwise reviewed" because of new requirements imposed by the administration.
\u201cSickening, shameful, heartless -- huge increases of children in detention, because the Trump Administration REDUCED the number allowed to live with families and sponsors.\u201d— David Lewis (@David Lewis) 1536796432
In addition to the family separation policy that continues to provoke international outrage, Trump's immigration agenda has included aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which have terrorized Latino communities across the country; entrapment of undocumented immigrants eligible for green cards; the deportations of hundreds of parents who were reportedly falsely told that if they signed so-called "voluntary departure orders" they would be reunited with their children; and most recently, Trump's plan to expedite even more deportations by paying Mexico $20 million so 17,000 people can be sent there.
Rather than improve its policies affecting immigrant communities, the Trump administration has signaled that it will simply make it possible for even more children to be detained in the country's immigration detention facilities, which are now nearly at capacity.
This week, the president announced that a so-called "tent city," or prison camp, in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, will be tripled in size, allowing for the detention of 3,800 minors.
\u201cThe Trump administration has no plan to fix the immigration crisis in this country. We can't accept their incompetence and cruel indifference as the status quo. \n\nThese children belong with their families.\nhttps://t.co/51OQgGrajF\u201d— Cort VanOstran (@Cort VanOstran) 1536845478
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Immigrant rights advocates and lawmakers are demanding the Trump administration address the ongoing crisis caused by its rampant detention of children, after it was reported Wednesday that the number of minors being held in U.S. government custody is at its highest ever recorded--with President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies to blame.
According to data obtained by the New York Times, 12,800 children were being detained in immigrant detention facilities as of this month--five times as many as the 2,400 who were in government custody in the spring of 2017.
\u201cThere are five times as many kids in child detention centers now than there were a year ago.\n\nLet me repeat that. There are FIVE TIMES as many children locked up and separated from their families than at this time last year.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1536793683
The Trump administration has claimed that the exploding level of detentions is owed to record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border--but border crossings have in fact been declining for years.
Instead, the Times reported, a key reason behind the overflowing child detention centers is families' reluctance to come forward to sponsor the children there, thanks to the president's multi-pronged crackdown on immigration.
Most of the detained children entered the country without parents or guardians--with many planning to join family members who could sponsor them once they arrive.
But many family members--reportedly over fears over being detained or deported themselves--have increasingly declined to claim the children.
"Traditionally, most sponsors have been undocumented themselves, and therefore are wary of risking deportation by stepping forward to claim sponsorship of a child," wrote Caitlin Dickerson at the Times. "Even those who are willing to become sponsors have had to wait months to be fingerprinted and otherwise reviewed" because of new requirements imposed by the administration.
\u201cSickening, shameful, heartless -- huge increases of children in detention, because the Trump Administration REDUCED the number allowed to live with families and sponsors.\u201d— David Lewis (@David Lewis) 1536796432
In addition to the family separation policy that continues to provoke international outrage, Trump's immigration agenda has included aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which have terrorized Latino communities across the country; entrapment of undocumented immigrants eligible for green cards; the deportations of hundreds of parents who were reportedly falsely told that if they signed so-called "voluntary departure orders" they would be reunited with their children; and most recently, Trump's plan to expedite even more deportations by paying Mexico $20 million so 17,000 people can be sent there.
Rather than improve its policies affecting immigrant communities, the Trump administration has signaled that it will simply make it possible for even more children to be detained in the country's immigration detention facilities, which are now nearly at capacity.
This week, the president announced that a so-called "tent city," or prison camp, in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, will be tripled in size, allowing for the detention of 3,800 minors.
\u201cThe Trump administration has no plan to fix the immigration crisis in this country. We can't accept their incompetence and cruel indifference as the status quo. \n\nThese children belong with their families.\nhttps://t.co/51OQgGrajF\u201d— Cort VanOstran (@Cort VanOstran) 1536845478
Immigrant rights advocates and lawmakers are demanding the Trump administration address the ongoing crisis caused by its rampant detention of children, after it was reported Wednesday that the number of minors being held in U.S. government custody is at its highest ever recorded--with President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies to blame.
According to data obtained by the New York Times, 12,800 children were being detained in immigrant detention facilities as of this month--five times as many as the 2,400 who were in government custody in the spring of 2017.
\u201cThere are five times as many kids in child detention centers now than there were a year ago.\n\nLet me repeat that. There are FIVE TIMES as many children locked up and separated from their families than at this time last year.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1536793683
The Trump administration has claimed that the exploding level of detentions is owed to record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border--but border crossings have in fact been declining for years.
Instead, the Times reported, a key reason behind the overflowing child detention centers is families' reluctance to come forward to sponsor the children there, thanks to the president's multi-pronged crackdown on immigration.
Most of the detained children entered the country without parents or guardians--with many planning to join family members who could sponsor them once they arrive.
But many family members--reportedly over fears over being detained or deported themselves--have increasingly declined to claim the children.
"Traditionally, most sponsors have been undocumented themselves, and therefore are wary of risking deportation by stepping forward to claim sponsorship of a child," wrote Caitlin Dickerson at the Times. "Even those who are willing to become sponsors have had to wait months to be fingerprinted and otherwise reviewed" because of new requirements imposed by the administration.
\u201cSickening, shameful, heartless -- huge increases of children in detention, because the Trump Administration REDUCED the number allowed to live with families and sponsors.\u201d— David Lewis (@David Lewis) 1536796432
In addition to the family separation policy that continues to provoke international outrage, Trump's immigration agenda has included aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which have terrorized Latino communities across the country; entrapment of undocumented immigrants eligible for green cards; the deportations of hundreds of parents who were reportedly falsely told that if they signed so-called "voluntary departure orders" they would be reunited with their children; and most recently, Trump's plan to expedite even more deportations by paying Mexico $20 million so 17,000 people can be sent there.
Rather than improve its policies affecting immigrant communities, the Trump administration has signaled that it will simply make it possible for even more children to be detained in the country's immigration detention facilities, which are now nearly at capacity.
This week, the president announced that a so-called "tent city," or prison camp, in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, will be tripled in size, allowing for the detention of 3,800 minors.
\u201cThe Trump administration has no plan to fix the immigration crisis in this country. We can't accept their incompetence and cruel indifference as the status quo. \n\nThese children belong with their families.\nhttps://t.co/51OQgGrajF\u201d— Cort VanOstran (@Cort VanOstran) 1536845478
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.