A Michigan state agency says immigrant children as young as three months old are being separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy for illegal border crossers.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights said in a statement Tuesday that it is examining the impact of the administration’s policy, implemented in May, and what its responsibilities are under state law.
[Also read: Trump administration detaining babies, toddlers in ‘tender-age’ centers: Report]
“This week, I have been in touch with various agencies and organizations working with these vulnerable children,” Agustin Arbulu, the agency’s executive director, said. “We have received reports and are very concerned that the children arriving here are much younger than those who have been transported here in the past. Some of the children are infants as young as 3 months of age and are completely unable to advocate for themselves.”
“While we commend the work of resettlement agencies in Michigan attempting to serve these children with dignity and compassion, nothing can replace the love, sense of security and care of a parent,” Arbulu continued.
The revelation from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights stands in contrast to statements from the Department of Homeland Security, which has said babies are not being separated from their parents.
“We do not separate breastfeeding children from their parents. That does not exist. That is not a policy,” a DHS official told reporters Friday.
The age at which children are separated from adults who have been confirmed as their parents varies. Each chief of the nine Border Patrol sectors on the U.S.-Mexico border has discretion in these cases.
However, a DHS spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Examiner that if a 3-month-old baby was separated from the adult upon arrival at the border, it would be “for reasons not prosecutorial,” meaning the two were determined to be unrelated and the baby was taken away due to safety concerns.
The DHS spokesperson also said she was unaware of whether the Michigan Department of Civil Rights reported the concern over the separated children to the department, as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had requested this week so the agency could investigate unnecessary separations.
In addition to the report from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, the Detroit Free Press reported that two baby boys were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the news outlet, the boys, 8 months old and 11 months old, were part of a larger group of 50 children who were separated from their families at the border, transported to Michigan, and placed in temporary foster care.
Under the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy, adults who are apprehended illegally trying to enter the U.S. between ports of entry are referred for criminal prosecution.
The policy has resulted in more than 2,300 children being separated from their parents between May 5 and June 9, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Trump administration has defended the policy and called on Congress to enact legislation to address the family separations.
Reporter Anna Giaritelli contributed to this report.
