Perspectives: Trump Needs To Take More Steps To Bring An End To Inhumane Treatment Of Immigrant Children
Opinion writers express views about the impact of the administration's zero-tolerance policy on children's health.
Los Angeles Times:
Caging Immigrant Children Alongside Their Parents Isn’t Much Of A Solution
The nation should be thankful that President Trump finally came to his senses and ended the inhumane and traumatizing practice of separating children from their immigrant parents who illegally enter the United States. Facing an extraordinary backlash not just from Democrats but from some Republicans, every living former first lady (and, amazingly, the current one), United Nations human rights officials, Willie Nelson, Pope Francis and many, many others who reacted in dismay to scenes of children corralled in metal cages, Trump probably had little choice. But his solution — detaining entire families together while the adults face, in most cases, misdemeanor charges of illegal entry — raises enormously troubling problems of its own. (6/21)
The New York Times:
Andrew Cuomo: A Moral Outrage New York Will Not Tolerate
The Trump administration’s inhumane treatment of immigrant children has left a dark stain on the history of our nation. It is a human tragedy and a threat to our values. ...The potential toll on these children is heavy. Research shows that the trauma of forced separation can cause long-lasting physical and emotional effects on children, changing how they process information, react to stress and develop executive function and decision-making skills. Such stress could also make these children more prone to inflammation and disease as they grow to be adults. As the number of adverse childhood events increases, the risk of health problems such as obesity, alcoholism and depression later in life increases. ...To make matters worse, the federal government is prohibiting New York from providing health and mental health services to the hundreds of children who have already been placed by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement in centers around the state — even though the state regulates those centers. (Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 6/20)
The Hill:
The Science Of Family Separation And How It Can Harm Children
After more than a decade caring for refugee and immigrant children as a pediatrician, stories of family separation remain the most difficult to hear. Children are typically silent and withdrawn as their caregivers break down in tears in front of me describing families torn apart by politically motivated incarceration, armed conflict or deportation. (Katherine Yun, 6/20)
Kansas City Star:
Migrant Children Separated From Parents Sent To Topeka
While the nation's outrage over the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy reached a boiling point, a small nonprofit in Topeka was quietly accepting migrant children who had been separated from their parents.These children, unwitting victims in the White House's efforts to gain leverage in the immigration debate, do not belong in Kansas. They should be with their parents. (6/20)
USA Today:
Donald Trump Immigration Flip Is Good For Border Kids And Public Health
There are times when public health supersedes politics of any and all kinds and this must be one of them. Hundreds of children have been separated from their parents at our southern border over the past few weeks, prompting the American Academy of Pediatrics to state "opposition to family separation stems from the serious health consequences this practice has on children." It is a big relief that President Donald Trump has finally signed an executive order to end this cruel practice. (Marc Siegel, 6/20)
