Migrant children draw bars and cages to depict their time in border patrol custody


These migrant children's drawings are the stuff of nightmares.
Hundreds of children are being held at Customs and Border Patrol facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border, with reports indicating they're not receiving adequate food, hygiene supplies, or medical care. And when they were released from that custody and asked to draw their experiences for a social worker, they produced some disturbing results, CBS News reports.
After their release, migrant children often head to nonprofits before they're claimed by family members or sent elsewhere. Those facilities include the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, where workers asked children to depict their time in detention, the American Academy of Pediatrics tells NBC News. The AAP gave three of those pictures, drawn by 10- and 11-year olds, to various news outlets — and they all depict prison-like bars and cages.
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Two of the children were from Guatemala, while one was from an unknown country. The AAP also told NBC News it doesn't know which CBP facilities the three children stayed in. Dr. Sara Goza, the incoming AAP president, did tour CBP's Central Processing Center in McAllen, and said she encountered "the smell of sweat, urine, and feces" and a "cage with boys" aged around 10-12 inside. Find more of the drawings at NBC News.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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