The following is a statement from Pili Tobar, Deputy Director of America’s Voice, regarding the sixth child death in a detention center in the past eight months:
Make no mistake: Trump, Stephen Miller, and their administration are responsible for these children’s deaths. Their failed, deterrence-only policies have sparked a humanitarian and refugee crisis, and their refusal to adjust course is leading to inhumane, dangerous, and inadequate care and conditions. No child had died in Customs and Border Protection custody in over ten years, but under this administration we are already up to six in a year.
Instead of meeting families fleeing for their lives with compassion and a sensible, orderly and fair immigration and asylum process, Trump and Miller are treating these refugees as a law enforcement problem that must be met with detention, deterrence, and cruelty. It’s no wonder their death count continues to grow. And, now, they have the audacity to demand more money.
There is a sensible, humane response that doesn’t include the deaths of children and parents, but the administration isn’t interested – they’d rather continue on their failed path, regardless of the consequences.
