Homeland Security Separating Migrant Families in Texas Border Patrol Facilities

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is separating migrant children from their parents in Texas Border Patrol facilities amid the overwhelming migrant surge.

Eight-year-old children are now placed into cells with unaccompanied migrant children.

According to Dr. Paul H. Wise, a monitor appointed by a federal judge, “Interviews with separated children in this age group revealed significant emotional distress related to separation, including sustained crying and disorientation, particularly due to the child’s uncertainty as to the location of the parent and when, and even if, child and parent might be reunited.”

Wise noted that moves from Customs and Border Protection to improve conditions for children “have been separated from their parents while in custody.”

DHS said in a statement to The Washington Times that they have “prioritized keeping families together at every step of the process and have policies and protocols to that end.”

“Due to legal restrictions or operational considerations, there are instances where family members will not be processed or detained together. We are always reviewing our policies and processes to ensure they are lawful, humane and consistent with our core values including a commitment to protecting and preserving family unity.”

Reporting from The Washington Times:

On the plus side, the monitor said CBP has been expanding its “caregiver” program to help keep the children occupied, and the children said they felt safe in the facilities.

Those marked improvements help reduce children’s trauma from the journey and arrests, but separations reverse much of that work, the monitor said.

“None of the trauma-informed steps CBP has implemented over the past year has the ability to counteract the deleterious impact of separating a child from a parent while in a CBP facility,” Dr. Wise said.
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