Advocates Warn About Lingering Health Problems In Detained Children Even After Short Amount Of Time
Meanwhile, the administration has temporarily halted the prosecution of parents and guardians, unless they have a criminal history or the child’s welfare was in question, and Republicans are looking at a narrow fix for the crisis instead of a sweeping overhaul of immigration policy.
Reuters:
Where Are The Beds? Questions Surround Trump's Plan To Hold Families In Detention
One child stopped eating and fell into a depression. Another who could previously walk on his own now asks his mother to carry him everywhere. A third child started biting other children. These are the experiences of children who have spent just three weeks at a temporary family immigration detention at the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, attorneys and volunteers who work at the center told Reuters. (Levinson, Torbati and Cooke, 6/25)
Reveal:
Migrant Children At Risk Of Disease Outbreaks, Doctors Say
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and a Baylor College of Medicine professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology, said he would expect the same types and abundance of illnesses in the detention centers as surfaced in evacuation shelters after hurricanes or other disasters, where infections spread quickly. The biggest concerns are viral respiratory diseases, noroviruses, which cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, and enteroviruses, which can cause meningitis, Hotez said. (Gross, 6/25)
The Associated Press:
Authorities Abandon ‘Zero-Tolerance’ For Immigrant Families
The Trump administration has scaled back a key element of its zero-tolerance immigration policy amid a global uproar over the separation of more than 2,300 migrant families, halting the practice of turning over parents to prosecutors for charges of illegally entering the country. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said Monday that President Donald Trump’s order last week to stop splitting immigrant families at the border required a temporary halt to prosecuting parents and guardians, unless they had criminal history or the child’s welfare was in question. He insisted the White House’s zero tolerance policy toward illegal entry remained intact. (Spagat and Lee, 6/26)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Press Ahead With Narrow Fix To Migrant Crisis Created By Trump
Republicans pressed ahead Monday with a narrow fix to the migrant crisis created by President Trump, all but abandoning efforts for a far-reaching immigration overhaul that would fund a border wall and deal with the fate of young undocumented immigrants. With Trump proving to be an unpredictable ally, deeply divided Republicans say they have little hope of rallying support for a broad package of reforms. However, GOP leaders are eager to adopt legislation that would make sure migrant children can remain with their parents at the border. (DeBonis and Sullivan, 6/25)
Bloomberg:
Immigrant Children Forcibly Medicated While In U.S. Custody, Lawyers Say
Children who allege they’re being detained for crossing the U.S. border without any court oversight and forcibly medicated will have to wait another month for a judge to consider whether the government’s practices violate a 1997 agreement. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday postponed to July 27 a hearing that had been scheduled for this week. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee gave human rights’ lawyers representing immigrant children two days to respond to a separate U.S. Justice Department request to modify the 1997 settlement that restricts the use of detainment so that children caught crossing the border illegally can be held together with their families. (Pettersson, 6/25)
Reveal:
Doctor Giving Migrant Kids Psychotropic Drugs Lost Certification Years Ago
The psychiatrist who has been prescribing powerful psychotropic medications to immigrant children at a federally funded residential treatment center in Texas has practiced without board certification to treat children and adolescents for nearly a decade, records show. (Bogado, 6/25)
The Associated Press:
Migrant Kids Could End Up In Already Strained Foster System
Foster care advocates say the government won't likely be able to reunite thousands of children separated from parents who crossed the border illegally, and some will end up in an American foster care system that is stacked against Latinos and other minorities. With few Spanish-speaking caseworkers, it's a challenge tracking down family members of the children who live south of the U.S.-Mexico border, and other relatives living in the states might be afraid to step forward to claim them because of fears of being detained or deported themselves. (6/26)
Los Angeles Times:
At The Border, Mothers Prepare To Make An Agonizing Choice
Two weeks ago, Dalila Pojoy stopped breastfeeding her baby girl. The 33-year-old Guatemalan immigrant decided it was the sensible thing to do in case the U.S. government took custody of her 6-month-old. Little Bernardethe wailed for three days and clawed at her mother’s breast. (Carcamo, 6/25)
The Associated Press:
A Day With Border Patrol: Imperiled Infant, Distraught Dad
The 4-month-old Honduran had just entered the United States illegally with a man who first claimed to be her father, then said he was her uncle, and presented what appeared to be a false birth certificate. The girl, wrapped in white bedding, was placed in a white crib under close watch of U.S. investigators, who waited for a Honduran consular official to arrive Monday. She was among about 1,100 people in a former warehouse that tripled in size last year, largely to accommodate people — many from Central America — traveling as families, and children traveling alone. (6/25)
