Analyst:

Separating migrant children at US border a form of ‘torture’

Rasa - The US government’s plan to separate children from their mothers who are crossing the US border illegally is a form of “torture” and underscores Washington’s indifference towards the consequences of its policies, says a political analyst in Chicago.

News ID: 427927

Date: 06 March 2017 - 21:09

RNA - Stephen Lendman, an author and radio host, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Sunday, following reports that the US Department of Homeland Security was weighing new policies aimed at discouraging Central American families from coming to the US.

Under the new plan, parents will be kept in detention centers as they contest deportation or make their cases in asylum courts.

Children, on the other hand, will be put into protective custody by the Department of Health and Human Services in what DHS officials have described as the “least restrictive setting” until their US relatives or state-sponsored guardians take them into care.

This is while, current federal laws do not allow for prolonged detention of children.

Trump has called for ending the “catch and release” policy, in which adults are released and are allowed to stay in the US until a court ruling.

“Trump’s immigration policy is one of his many deplorable policies,” Lendman told Press TV on Sunday.

The analyst said the Trump administration’s plans to separate women and children from their families were “outrageous” and amounted to “torture.”

Lendman also argued that the immigration problem was in large part due to wars and unfair trade deals that Washington had imposed upon other nations.

“America, first off, wages wars and creates the problem of refugees and then turns its back on them wanting to do nothing,” he explained.

Late last month, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly ordered immigration agents to deport or criminally prosecute parents who facilitate the smuggling of their children.

US immigration agents apprehended around 54,000 children and their parents between October 1, 2016 and January 31, 2017, more than two times the number from the same time period a year before.

Mexico announced on Sunday that it had opened legal aid centers in its 50 consulates across the US in order to protect its citizens in the face of Trump's aggressive policies.

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