Migrant children's drawings depict 'horrific' conditions in cages

Disturbing drawings by children recently held in migrant detention centers showing sad figures in cages have been released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which last week warned of longterm trauma faced by immigrant children separated from parents or guardians under the Trump administration’s border policies.

The pictures were drawn last week by unaccompanied 10 and 11-year-old migrant children after being released from ⁦Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. They were obtained by NBC News which said they were provided to the AAP by a social worker in Texas.

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

In its policy statement released last week, the academy warned that the welfare of immigrant children seeking safe haven in the United States, whether arriving unaccompanied or in family units, is of “great concern to pediatricians and other advocates for children”.

The academy warned that Department of Homeland Security facilities used to accommodate unaccompanied children “do not meet the basic standards for the care of children in residential settings”.

The warnings come as multiple reports found that immigrant children are being held in poor conditions after being separated from their guardians. A report in ProPublica released on Monday also revealed the existence of a secret Facebook group, in which CBP officers seemed to mock the plight of migrant children.

In one example, group members joked about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a border patrol station in Weslaco, Texas.

Following a visit to a migrant detention center in Texas this week, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the conditions she and other lawmakers found as “horrifying”.

On Tuesday, the department of homeland security’s office of inspector general released a report detailing severe overcrowding and escalating tensions between detainees and border patrol agents at five facilities in the Rio Grande Valley.

The report said children were denied showers, clean clothing and hot meals. Several adults hadn’t had a shower for as long as a month.

The latest warnings about the long-term psychological damage facing migrant children separated from family members come as a government spokesman said Wednesday that the administration is evaluating vacant properties near five US cities as potential permanent sites to hold unaccompanied migrant children.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Mark Weber said Wednesday that property is being assessed in and around Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas.

Public contracts for the facilities state properties must be able to accommodate up to 500 children. Buildings must have up to 100,800 square feet (9,400 sq meters) of space and the properties must include about 2 acres (0.8 hectares) for outdoor recreation.

Plans for the Atlanta facility calls for 125 bedrooms, with each of them housing up to four children. The HHS spokesman said the search for permanent facilities is being pursued to reduce the possible need for temporary shelters in the future.

The Associated Press contributed to the report