Migrant Children Create Drawings of Time in Detention Center at US Southern Border

A social worker obtained pictures drawn by three children, ages 10-11, at Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas after recently being released from Border Patrol custody.

The pictures depicted chilling images of children locked in cages and under blankets without beds, guarded by people with guns.

It is apparent that this treatment could likely have long-lasting psychological effects on the immigrant children.

A social worker at the center gave the drawings to the American Academy of Pediatrics (APP).

“The fact that the drawings are so realistic and horrific gives us a view into what these children have experienced,” Dr. Colleen Kraft of the APP told CNN. “When a child draws this, it’s telling us that the child felt like he or she was in jail.”

When Dr. Sara Goza, the president of the APP toured two CBP facilities, she was appalled at the conditions that innocent children are forced to live in.

“The first thing that hit me when we walked in the door was the smell. It was the smell of sweat, urine, and feces,” she said. “No amount of time spent in these facilities is safe for children.”

The issue of unhealthy living conditions at the border has been a sensitive issue to many recently, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

President Trump’s complete indifference to the inhumane treatment of immigrant children could be no more apparent than in his recent tweet.

Trump dismissed the dismal detention center conditions, saying “If illegal immigrants are unhappy with the conditions in the quickly built or refitted detention centers, just tell them not to come… All problems solved.”

When commenting on the state of the American treatment of migrants at the border, Dr. Kraft told CNN, “This is truly a very dark spot in U.S. history. This will be remembered as a time when the U.S. was cruel to immigrant children. It makes me wonder what kind of country are we that we would treat children this way.”

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