The shelters
were intended for children under the age of 12, referred to as “tender
age” detainees, who are entering the detention system in ever-larger
numbers under the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from parents who enter the country illegally.
Many
are toddlers and babies and require special care, and their numbers
have been rising since last month, when the government enforced a “zero
tolerance” policy on people crossing the border. Estimates suggest that
more than 2,400 children under the age of 12 are now in federal custody,
including many who have been separated from their parents.
But
on Wednesday, faced with the intense criticism over the shelters and
the separation of families, President Trump retreated, signing an executive order
that would detain parents and children together.
For now, it seems the
separations will stop, but it remains unclear what will happen going
forward. A Health and Human Services official said that children already
separated will not be immediately reunited with their parents while the
adults remain in custody during their immigration proceedings.
The
executive order came just hours after reports that three centers in
southern Texas — in Brownsville, Combes and Raymondville — were being
outfitted to accommodate younger children.
A person inside
a shelter in Brownsville, Tex., took a series of pictures and supplied
them to The New York Times. The facility, which houses babies and
toddlers, is operated by Southwest Key Programs, the same nonprofit
group that operates a shelter at a former Walmart.
One
image showed a toddler girl who is about 12 months old, playing on a
colorful mat decorated with the letters of the alphabet and drawings of
animals. The workers and others standing around the little girl wear
blue hospital-style bootees to keep the wooden floor clean.
The
girl was separated from her relatives for about a month as part of the
family-separation policy, according to the person who took the photo,
who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release an
image.
A backlash
against the “tender age” shelters erupted on Tuesday night after The
Associated Press first reported news of their existence. The MSNBC late
night host Rachel Maddow broke down crying on the air as she read the A.P. article.
Referrals
of young children have risen “exponentially” since the “zero tolerance”
policy was announced, according to Elizabeth Frankel, associate
director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. The center
pairs migrant children with lawyers and social workers who advocate on
their behalf until they are reunited with parents.
Read more at: What’s Behind the ‘Tender Age’ Shelters Opening for Young Migrants - The New York Times
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