Trump Officials ‘Very Comfortable’ With Immigrants’ Treatment In Detention Facilities
“These individuals have access to 24/7 food and water,” said Matthew Albence, the acting No. 2 official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “They have educational opportunities. They have recreational opportunities, both structured as well as unstructured.” Meanwhile, another official testified that he warned higher-ups about the psychological trauma the separations could have on children.
The New York Times:
Migrant Detention Centers Are ‘Like A Summer Camp,’ Official Says At Hearing
Not until the day it was announced did senior officials from three key agencies learn of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy to deter migrants from illegally entering the United States by threatening jail sentences and separating children from their parents. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, the officials said they were given few instructions and had no plans for reuniting the families when the policy was announced on April 6. One official, Cmdr. Jonathan D. White of the United States Public Health Service, said he learned of it from watching television. (Nixon, 7/31)
Reuters:
U.S. Senior Official Says He Flagged Risks For Children From Border Separations
A senior official at the U.S. agency charged with caring for migrant children believed separating them from their parents carried "significant risk" of harm and said on Tuesday concerns had been raised internally before the Trump administration made it official policy. Jonathan White, a senior U.S. Public Health Service official, told Congress that the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), where he worked until March 2018, had "raised a number of concerns" about the proposed policy in the year preceding its implementation. (Torbati and Cowan, 7/31)