01 October 2018•Update: 02 October 2018
By Umar Farooq
WASHINGTON
The New York Times on Monday criticized the immigration policies practiced by the American administration, citing its indefinite detention of unaccompanied minors.
The Times Editorial Board wrote the President Donald Trump administration was struggling to find solutions as they detained thousands of undocumented immigrants across the country.
Last week, federal immigration authorities pulled nearly 2,000 children from different shelters around the U.S. and sent them to a "'tent city' in the desert town of Tornillo, Tex."
The move was done due to the rampant overcrowding that many detention centers are facing this year.
While the problem of dealing with unaccompanied minors that have crossed the border illegally is something that the Obama administration also struggled with, the Times argued the current administration is not helping the situation.
The Times reported the Department of Homeland Security tightened restrictions for relatives that want to take care of unaccompanied children while their cases are processed.
The new requirements scared off potential caretakers, because they could end up being detained for being undocumented immigrants as well.
"So far, dozens of applicants who took the chance of applying to be sponsors have been arrested on immigration charges," the Times wrote.
Many detention centers have also proven they do not provide the necessary security for children on issues such as physical and sexual abuse, according to the newspaper.
The Times stressed the only way solutions will come is through political compromise and restructuring policy.
"But further traumatizing children whose lives have already been upended, and detaining them indefinitely, serves only to deepen the shame of this country’s treatment of vulnerable brown-skinned children, many of whom will spend a lifetime recovering from our failures," the Times wrote.
