Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Pediatricians Share The Devastating Drawings Migrant Children Have Made In The Detention Centers

Pediatricians Share The Devastating Drawings Migrant Children Have Made In The Detention Centers
PA VIral

Pictures drawn by children recently detained by the United States border force depict their “inhumane" treatment, with figures of people in cages. The pictures were drawn by children following their release by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).


Detention centers are the first places children go after they are picked up by customs officials.

“The cages they are kept in are metal cells. They are kept cold, there is not enough food or water, and they are crowded. There are open toilets and the lights are kept on 24/7," Immediate past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Colleen Kraft said.

The pictures drawn by the children in the detention centres. (American Academy of Pediatrics)A picture drawn by a child in the detention centers. (American Academy of Pediatrics/AP)

2

While they are waiting to be processed in the system the children are separated from their parents. And, after they are released the children are sent to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Centre in McAllen, Texas, to be reunited with their families.

The respite center is where many families get their first shower, clean clothes and a hot meal after arriving in the US.

During their time there, the children were asked to draw canvases depicting their time spent in CBP custody.

These pictures were drawn by a 10-year-old boy from Guatemala and an 11-year-old from Guatemala. The third picture was drawn by another 10-year-old, of unknown origin.

The pictures showed detainees in cages. (American Academy of Pediatrics/AP)

They were held in the detention center for five days to a week. Kraft said the trauma of these conditions put the children at risk of developing PTSD and many children leave the centers with chicken pox, the flu, and dehydration.

“We have seen children die because some of these conditions are so awful," she said. “It is a sad sign of this administration's policies."

Incoming AAP president Dr Sara Goza visited the detention centers and said she did not meet any pediatricians onsite.

Medics said migrant children suffered appalling conditions. (American Academy of Pediatrics/AP)

“The smell that immediately hit me when I stepped foot inside a CBP processing center — it was a combination of urine, feces and sweat," she continued. “I saw so many children with bloodshot, bulging eyes. They were expressionless and they were exhausted. I visited the facility during the mid-morning and most of the children I saw were asleep or lethargic."

These conditions were portrayed by the kids' drawings, and are the same conditions many activists are trying to fight.

“Children are kept in metal cages with a guard tower in the middle of the room looking down over the children at all times," Kraft continued. "The 'sea of silver' from mylar blankets completely covered the concrete floors. I could hardly tell that children were underneath them. The only sound I heard was crinkling mylar as they moved. No talking, no laughter, no interacting."

You can donate to help the children here.

More from People/donald-trump

Rebel Wilson
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Rebel Wilson Reveals She Was Nearly Left 'Permanently Disfigured' By Accident On Film Set

After first becoming friends more than 14 years ago on the set of the first Pitch Perfect movie, Anna Camp and Rebel Wilson are back together in Bride Hard, now with Camp as the bride and Wilson as her best friend, and also a secret agent.

There is some chance of injury in almost any job, but with stunts in an action film, there are bound to be incidents, even if it's just a few stubbed toes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joe Biden; Alan Ritchson
Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Joe Biden And His Family Accidentally Crashed The 'Reacher' Set And Met Star Alan Ritchson

What do you do when you're the former President and you stumble upon a real-live Hollywood film set? Why, fan boy just like the rest of us, of course!

President Joe Biden and his family were heading to dinner on a recent night in Philadelphia when they happened upon the set of the Amazon Prime show Reacher. In fact, he drove right up to the set itself, seemingly without even realizing it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike Lee
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

GOP Senator Faces MAGA Backlash Over Plan To Sell Millions Of Acres Of Public Land

Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee is facing harsh criticism—including from Team MAGA—over his proposal to sell off millions of acres of public land in the American West owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to supposedly create more affordable housing.

Lee claimed in his proposal that there is an "extensive process for interested parties like States and local governments to nominate land for disposal to meet housing and community needs," noting that it specifically exempts national parks, monuments, and federally designated wilderness areas from potential land sales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Ripped For Complaining That Americans Get 'Too Many' Federal Holidays Off Work

While it was ultimately former President Joe Biden who established Juneteenth as a federal holiday, President Donald Trump—who once campaigned on that promise—took to Truth Social on Juneteenth to whine about the number of "non-working holidays" Americans get, claiming that it costs businesses "billions of dollars."

Juneteenth is derived from June 19, 1865, when Union troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and declared that all enslaved African Americans in the state were free.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman sitting up in bed as a man sleeps next to her.
Florida State University Researchers Find Predictors for Infidelity in New Study
(Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The Biggest 'They're Definitely Cheating On Me!' Signs People Ignored

When our partner commits suspicious behavior, it's easy for us to jump to conclusions.

Most of the time, the conclusions we jump to are 100% wrong and are just our imaginations playing tricks with us.

Keep ReadingShow less