As though the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents wasn't already disturbing enough, the administration recently admitted in a relevant court filing that at least one of the children under five -- and the parent from whom the child was separated -- could possibly be United States Citizens.
Brad Heath, an investigative reporter for USA Today, analyzed the filing on Twitter and broke it down for his followers.
The revelation that the Trump administration could essentially be kidnapping its own citizens was by far the most shocking finding.
The administration still won't disclose just how many separated minors remain in the care of Health and Human Services since President Trump withdrew his separation policy two weeks ago, but the number is believed to be in the thousands.
Americans took to Twitter to express their outrage.
And wondered why there isn't more outrage.
Some are less surprised.
This is just the latest in a string of horror stories coming out of the detention camps and at the hands of ICE.
In one instance, a toddler was rushed to the hospital after agents took her inhalers away. In another recent report, five women came forward to say they'd suffered miscarriages while guards ignored them and refused to help. An asylum seeker reported in court documents that a customs agent said to her, “Why did you come from your country? Don’t you know that we hate you people?” All of these stories were published within 24 hours of each other.
These reports come as calls to abolish ICE grow louder.
The Trump administration's policies are forcing many Americans to examine just what they're willing to tolerate from their government. From the initial reports of children in cages to the cruelties exposed today, Democratic lawmakers may not get behind abolishing ICE, but if the agency is ready to separate families who might be American citizens, then it's doing the literal opposite of its job.
