Three minors separated from their parents under President Trump's "zero tolerance" policy were sexually abused by employees at unidentified U.S. detention centers in Arizona, El Salvador's deputy foreign relations minister Liduvina Magarin told reporters Thursday. The children, age 12 to 17, are among the 191 Salvadoran minors separated from their parents, 18 of whom are still in U.S. shelters. "They are sexual violations, sexual abuses, that is what this is about," Magarin said. The three children are in good health, she added, but "the psychological and emotional impact is forever, and we are attending to that situation."
Magarin said her government is urging the U.S. to reunify the separated families because the children "are the most vulnerable" in the shelters. Police have received at least 125 reports of sex offenses at shelters mostly holding migrant children, ProPublica reported in July, and one Phoenix shelter worker was arrested last month for molesting a 14-year-old migrant girl. As of Aug. 20, 528 children in U.S. custody remained separated from their parents, including 23 children under age 5 and 343 whose parents are no longer in America. District Judge Dana Sabraw had ordered the Trump administration to reunite all 2,654 separated minors by July 26.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of JulyCartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Crossword: July 5, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US borderSpeed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked callSpeed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side dealThe pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policiesSpeed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final daySpeed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts moreSpeed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custodySpeed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
