Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Separating Children From Parents Can Make Them Easy Prey For Traffickers, State Department Report Warns
The New York Times: In Human Trafficking Report, State Dept. Warns Against Separating Children From Parents
The State Department warned in a report on Thursday that separating children from their parents can cause lasting psychological damage that leaves them vulnerable to trafficking, a cautionary tale that comes amid an uproar over a Trump administration immigration policy that has temporarily broken up migrant families as they enter the United States. (Harris, 6/28)
Los Angeles Times: Ivanka Trump Helps Unveil Administration Report That Decries The Effect Of Separating Children From Parents
A new 68-page report on international human trafficking, unveiled by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo during a ceremony with Ivanka Trump at the State Department, devotes two pages to withering condemnation of separating families. The harmful "physical and psychological effects of staying in residential institutions," it said, put children at additional risk of human trafficking. (Bierman, 6/28)
Bloomberg: State Department Report Cites Psychological Risks Of Separating Children From Families
“Removal of a child from the family should only be considered as a temporary, last resort,” according to the report. “The physical and psychological effects of staying in residential institutions, combined with societal isolation and often subpar regulatory oversight by governments, place these children in situations of heightened vulnerability to human trafficking.” (Green and Nadeem, 6/28)
Dallas Morning News: At The Border, Doctors, Advocates Worry Medical Care For Immigrants Is Lacking
Doctors who have traveled to the Rio Grande Valley to check on the condition of immigrant children separated from their parents say children leaving Border Patrol processing centers are coming out ill and may not be getting the care they need while in federal custody. "I saw children malnourished, with respiratory infections and fevers. None of them received any antibiotics to treat bacterial infections," said Dr. Aaron Bodansky, a senior resident in Pediatrics at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. "Others had severe diaper rashes as it appears many hadn't have the diapers changed for a long time." (Manrique and Solis, 6/28)
