Alone at the Border

When pediatrician Dolly Lucio Sevier examined children being held at a border detention facility in McAllen, Texas, this summer, she was shocked by what she saw: Babies with respiratory infections; freezing cold temperatures in the cells where the children were being held; lights on 24 hours a day, preventing sleep; no access to hand washing; and not enough food to eat.

“The conditions within which they are held could be compared to torture facilities,” Sevier wrote in sworn legal testimony after visiting the Ursula border processing center in June at the request of migrants’ rights lawyers.

For about a year and a half, these kinds of conditions have been a reality for thousands of migrant children who have been separated from their families by U.S. authorities after crossing the border illegally. Most are from Central America and have traveled hundreds of miles, seeking safety and better lives.

This summer, Dolly Lucio Sevier examined children being held at a border detention facility in McAllen, Texas. Sevier, a pediatrician, was shocked by what she saw. There were babies with respiratory infections. The cells where the children were being held were freezing cold. The lights were on 24 hours a day, preventing those being detained from sleeping. They had no access to hand washing. And there was not enough food to eat.

“The conditions within which they are held could be compared to torture facilities,” Sevier wrote in sworn legal testimony after visiting the Ursula border processing center in June at the request of migrants’ rights lawyers.

For about a year and a half, these kinds of conditions have been a reality for thousands of migrant children who have been separated from their families by U.S. authorities after crossing the border illegally. Most are from Central America. They’ve traveled hundreds of miles, seeking safety and better lives.

The number of people trying to cross the southern border has soared recently: More than half a million people were stopped trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the first half of this year—almost double the number stopped during the first half of 2018.

To discourage migrants from coming to the U.S., the Trump administration enacted a strict new policy in April 2018, calling for adults crossing the border illegally to be arrested and charged as criminals. Children were to be separated from adult relatives and sent to youth facilities that officials said would offer play spaces and education and were supposed to be better suited to children than adult detention.

Within three months, more than 2,600 kids had been taken from their families. Many Americans, including some who want tougher immigration laws, were outraged by photos of screaming children being pulled from their parents’ arms. In response, the Trump administration announced an official end to its separation policy in June 2018.

But the practice has continued. Over the following year, at least another 900 children were separated from their families and put in detention, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing the government to stop these separations.

Many of those removals happened because U.S. policy still lets border agents separate kids if they arrive with relatives other than their parents, or if they come with a parent who previously committed a crime—even something as minor as a traffic violation.

The number of people trying to cross the southern border has soared recently. More than half a million people were stopped trying to enter the U.S. illegally in the first half of this year. That’s almost double the number stopped during the first half of 2018.

The Trump administration has actively sought to discourage migrants from coming to the U.S. It enacted a strict new policy in April 2018. The policy called for adults crossing the border illegally to be arrested and charged as criminals. Children were to be separated from adult relatives and sent to youth facilities. Officials said these facilities would offer play spaces and education. These locations were supposed to be better suited to children than adult detention.

Within three months, more than 2,600 kids had been taken from their families. Many Americans were outraged by photos of screaming children being pulled from their parents’ arms. Even some Americans who want tougher immigration laws were disturbed. In response, the Trump administration announced an official end to its separation policy in June 2018.

But the practice has continued. Over the following year, at least another 900 children were separated from their families and put in detention, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The organization is currently suing the government to stop these separations.

Many of those removals happened because U.S. policy still lets border agents separate kids if they arrive with relatives other than their parents. Kids can also be separated if they come with a parent who previously committed a crime. That includes crimes as minor as a traffic violation.

The separations are part of a broader crackdown against illegal immigration by the Trump administration. Deportations of those in the U.S. illegally have increased sharply. The requirements for being granted asylum have been tightened, and many of those seeking asylum now must wait in Mexico while their claims are considered (see “How Asylum Works,” below).

“We are seeing an overall effort to make it difficult or impossible for people seeking humanitarian relief to come to the United States,” says Mark Greenberg of the Migration Policy Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C.

Many Trump administration immigration policies are designed to discourage undocumented migrants from even trying to come to the U.S.

“If they feel there will be separation, they won’t come,” Trump said last year of migrant parents.

Many of those arriving in the U.S. say their lives are at risk in their home countries (see “What They’re Fleeing,” below), and they’re asking to be allowed to stay on those grounds. It’s a process called claiming asylum, and the number of migrants arriving in the U.S. who are using it has risen by almost 2,000 percent in the past decade.

President Trump and many of his supporters say this is evidence that the asylum system is being abused.

“There is widespread abuse,” says Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a conservative group that favors immigration restrictions. “People know that if they say the right things and get into the asylum system that they’ll be able to stay in the U.S. for years as they wait for their case to even come up.”

But immigration advocates say that none of this justifies separating kids from their families or holding them for long periods of time.

“It’s a horrific policy,” Greenberg says. “It’s hard to think of a policy that would be more destructive and harmful to children.”

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—where most of the current migrants come from—all are rife with severe poverty and intense violence from gangs and drug cartels. The authorities there are famously corrupt and often work with the criminals, so they’re of little help in protecting people.

The separations are part of a broader crackdown against illegal immigration by the Trump administration. Deportations of those in the U.S. illegally have increased sharply. The requirements for being granted asylum have been tightened. Many of those seeking asylum now must wait in Mexico while their claims are considered (see “How Asylum Works,” below).

“We are seeing an overall effort to make it difficult or impossible for people seeking humanitarian relief to come to the United States,” says Mark Greenberg of the Migration Policy Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C.

Many Trump administration immigration policies are designed to discourage undocumented migrants from even trying to come to the U.S.

“If they feel there will be separation, they won’t come,” Trump said last year
of migrant parents.

Many of those arriving in the U.S. say their lives are at risk in their home countries (see “What They’re Fleeing,” below). They’re asking to be allowed to stay on those grounds. It’s a process called claiming asylum. The number of migrants arriving in the U.S. who are using it has risen by almost 2,000 percent in the past decade.

President Trump and many of his supporters say this is evidence that
the asylum system is being abused.

“There is widespread abuse,” says Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a conservative group that favors immigration restrictions. “People know that if they say the right things and get into the asylum system that they’ll be able to stay in the U.S. for years as they wait for their case to even come up.”

But immigration advocates say that none of this justifies separating kids from their families or holding them for long periods of time.

“It’s a horrific policy,” Greenberg says. “It’s hard to think of a policy that would be more destructive and harmful to children.”

Most of the current migrants come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Each of those countries is rife with severe poverty and intense violence from gangs and drug cartels. The authorities there are famously corrupt and often work with the criminals. They’re of little help in protecting people.

That was the experience of 12-year-old Mateo,* who fled to the U.S. from Guatemala this past summer with his uncle, who had been raising him and his 4-year-old brother.

“We lived in a dangerous neighborhood filled with gangs and drug dealers,” Mateo said. So they set out, hoping to reunite with Mateo’s mother, who had gone to the U.S. years earlier and was living in Miami.

But when they arrived in the U.S., border officials took his uncle away and brought Mateo and his brother to a youth detention center in Clint, Texas. The facility was built to hold 100 adults. At one point, about 700 kids were there.

“We are housed in a room with dozens of other children—some as young as 2,” Mateo said. After spending 13 days in detention, he and his brother had bathed only once. “Our clothes are the same clothes that we had on when we arrived. We have not been given soap,” he said.

That was the experience of 12-year-old Mateo. He fled to the U.S. from Guatemala this past summer with his uncle, who had been raising him and his 4-year-old brother.

“We lived in a dangerous neighborhood filled with gangs and drug dealers,” Mateo said. So they set out, hoping to reunite with Mateo’s mother, who had gone to the U.S. years earlier and was living in Miami.

But when they arrived in the U.S., border officials separated them. They took his uncle away and brought Mateo and his brother to a youth detention center in Clint, Texas. The facility was built to hold 100 adults. At one point, about 700 kids were there.

“We are housed in a room with dozens of other children—some as young as 2,” Mateo said. After spending 13 days in detention, he and his brother had bathed only once. “Our clothes are the same clothes that we had on when we arrived. We have not been given soap,” he said.

Most of the kids at the Clint facility had had little or no contact with their relatives. Nearly two weeks after Mateo was taken from his uncle, they still had not been reunited. “I do not know where he is,” the boy said.

Experts say that removing these children from their families can cause lasting trauma.

“There is no greater threat to a child’s emotional well-being than being separated from a primary caregiver,” says Johanna Bick, a psychology professor at the University of Houston who studies childhood trauma. “Even if it was for a short period, for a child, that’s an eternity.”

Under a court ruling known as the Flores agreement, the government isn’t allowed to detain migrant children for more than 20 days. Despite this, a recent report by a congressional oversight panel showed that some kids spent more than a year in custody without their families.

Officials say the immigration system is overwhelmed. So this past summer, Congress passed a bill pledging $4.6 billion to improve conditions at detention centers and boost border security. In July, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost asked Congress to ensure that kids are housed with their relatives in centers meant for families. “We need to be able to hold families together,” she said.

Most of the kids at the Clint facility had had little or no contact with their relatives. Nearly two weeks after Mateo was taken from his uncle, they still had not been reunited. “I do not know where he is,” the boy said.

Experts say that removing these children from their families can cause lasting trauma.

“There is no greater threat to a child’s emotional well-being than being separated from a primary caregiver,” says Johanna Bick, a psychology professor at the University of Houston who studies childhood trauma. “Even if it was for a short period, for a child, that’s an eternity.”

Under a court ruling known as the Flores agreement, the government isn’t allowed to detain migrant children for more than 20 days. Despite this, a recent report by a congressional oversight panel showed that some kids spent more than a year in custody without their families.

Officials say the immigration system is overwhelmed. So this past summer, Congress passed a bill pledging $4.6 billion to improve conditions at detention centers and boost border security. In July, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost asked Congress to ensure that kids are housed with their relatives in centers meant for families. “We need to be able to hold families together,” she said.

In August, the Trump administration set new rules that would let the government detain immigrant kids for an unlimited period of time. That way, the administration says, children can be held with their parents until their court dates.

But critics say the new rules won’t necessarily stop separations. Plus, officials will be able to detain separated children for far longer than what was legal before. Nineteen states are suing the Trump administration to stop the rules from going into effect.

In August, the Trump administration set new rules. They allow the government to detain immigrant kids for an unlimited period of time. That way, the administration says, children can be held with their parents until their court dates.

But critics say the new rules won’t necessarily stop separations. Plus, officials will be able to detain separated children for far longer than what was legal before. Nineteen states are suing the Trump administration to stop the rules from going into effect.

While all this legal wrangling is going on, many children remain in detention facilities.

At the detention centers, teenagers often wind up looking after little kids they don’t know. At the Clint facility, Rosa,* 14, who had fled Guatemala after gangs tried to recruit her and her older sister, was caring for two small girls who’d been separated from their families. Rosa had made the journey from Guatemala with her 18-year-old sister, but they’d been separated by guards at the border, and Rosa was worried that her sister would be sent back to Guatemala.

“I don’t know where she is, or if she is OK,” Rosa said, explaining that she and her sister were hoping to join their father, who lives in California.

Rosa held the two little girls in her lap and tried to comfort them. She herself hadn’t been allowed to talk to her father or her sister, and she was upset.

“I need comfort too,” Rosa said. “I am bigger than they are, but I am a child too.”

While all these legal disputes are happening, many children remain
in detention facilities.

At the detention centers, teenagers often wind up looking after little kids they don’t know. At the Clint facility, Rosa,* 14, who had fled Guatemala after gangs tried to recruit her and her older sister, was caring for two small girls. The girls had been separated from their families. Rosa had made the journey from Guatemala with her 18-year-old sister. They had been separated by guards at the border. Rosa was worried that her sister would be sent back to Guatemala.

“I don’t know where she is, or if she is OK,” Rosa said, explaining that she and her sister were hoping to join their father, who lives in California.

Rosa held the two little girls in her lap and tried to comfort them. She herself hadn’t been allowed to talk to her father or her sister, and she was upset.

“I need comfort too,” Rosa said. “I am bigger than they are, but I am a child too.”

*Not their real names. Quotes by children in this story are from legal testimonies they provided while detained at U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities. Source: National Center for Youth Law