Senator tours Florida teen detention camp he wants shut down

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press Updated 2:13 pm CDT, Tuesday, March 12, 2019



Photo: Wilfredo Lee, AP

FILE - In this Feb.19, 2019 file photo, children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Fla. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said Monday, March 11, 2019 that he toured the Florida facility and found children are being held there for too long in a restrictive environment.


MIAMI (AP) — A Democratic senator from Oregon advocating against migrant youth detention camps says he toured a Florida facility and found children are being held there for too long in a restrictive environment.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said late Monday that he talked to three boys who also confirmed reports that employees told teenagers they would not be reunited with family if they misbehaved.

"We should be having an expedited process to have kids placed with sponsors," Merkley told The Associated Press. "The principle is you don't keep kids locked up."

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Mark Weber said Wednesday the allegation that children were told they wouldn't be reunited with their families if they misbehaved was "strange." He said he would reach out to the facility's director for more information.



Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Senator-tours-Florida-teen-detention-camp-he-13682366.php

[Ilsa]

1. A Congresswoman from Texas said that a newborn baby

was stripped from her mother for several weeks, probably ruining her milk supply and the best chance for this baby to get a healthy start. The activities of the border patrol and the companies running the prisons are a violation of human rights.

[2naSalit]

4. a violation of human rights

It sure is, don't know why there aren't more lawsuits.

[riversedge]

2. kids will act out when confined like they are.....

This is horrible. damn


.....Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Mark Weber said Wednesday that the release of children can be delayed "if a child presents with serious behavior incidents or impulsivity."

"The behavior is evaluated and informs the release recommendations," Weber said. He clarified the employees should not be discussing with the children the factors used to determine their release. "Staff will be retrained on this topic to ensure compliance."

About 1,600 children in government custody are housed at the privately run camp in Homestead, Florida. The health agency prefers to refer to it as a residential shelter.

The senator says it is the largest and least regulated of the facilities where the government holds children who cross the Mexican border.

The agency says children spend 58 days on average there. When the news media visited in June, officials said the average stay was 25 days......

[WhiteTara]

3. Where are the girls?

[red dog 1]

5. This evil has to end!

Trump has to go!

K&R

[FiveGoodMen]

6. What will we do about his 100,000,000 followers?

Last edited Wed Mar 13, 2019, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

They'll find another fascist to back.