Absolutely no one likes the thought of a child in a cage, and to most, it is a problem. However, that was the current state of the US, when they held illegal immigrants and their children in cages. Outrage over what has occurred is not over, especially since there are children out there who have still not been reunited with their families. President Donald Trump has had to speak on this many times, and with the election coming up, he is speaking out about it again.
October 22nd saw the second (and final) presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden, and the President spoke on the issue again, according to Buzzfeed News.
President Trump said that the immigrant children who were separated from their parents were in places that “were so clean” and that they all were well “taken care of.” The zero-tolerance policy when it came to those who crossed the US border without authorization came into effect in 2018, and it outraged the world.
During this 2-year span, there have been countless reports about what the conditions were like for the children who were trapped in cages. These messages were collected by lawyers and immigrant children detainees who described the environment as “cold and hungry.” They stated that everyone was crowded into cages with little access to showers, clean clothes and places to actually sleep. Teen mothers also reported that they struggled to make sure that their children and babies were clean and warm.
President Trump said in the debate that the facilities they were in were indeed clean and that everyone in them was well taken care of. Leading some to believe that he is not being truthful about the situation, or that he is not aware of what was going on. Some find it very hard to believe that he was not aware of the situation, because inspectors had their own reports of what was going on.
The inspections returned very similar reports that were being made about the conditions on these detention facilities. Many had little (to no access) to anything for the children who were being held there. Joe Biden responded to what was going on with these detention centers and stated that “it’s criminal.” President Trump then redirected the question to Biden, asking him who built the cages in the first place, implying that it was President Barack Obama who had made these institutions. While the cages may not have been built during President Trump’s administration, his policies were and they are clearly affecting immigrant children who were just on their way to a better life.
Source: Buzzfeed News