An official with the Department of Homeland Security pushed back against the now-viral story that a ICE agent separated a Honduran immigrant from her 4-month-old baby while the mom was breastfeeding the infant.
According to the anonymous official, it never happened:
DHS official, speaking anonymously, denied widely circulated story of 4-mnth-old taken from detained immigrant mom while breastfeeding, saying administration draws a "bright line" against separating adults & babies. Had no immediate answer for what age cutoff is for that line
— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) June 15, 2018
More from BuzzFeed:
During the call with reporters Friday afternoon, a DHS official twice said they did not believe the story of the baby being taken from the breastfeeding mother was true.
DHS officials also denied reports that they’re lying to parents. From National Review:
The officials also objected to stories alleging that parents are being misled into believing that their children are only being taken to be given a shower. Agents speak Spanish and give migrants tear sheets explaining what is happening to try to be as transparent as possible.
Well, maybe DHS should have gone on the record BEFORE the story went viral?
Infant ripped from mother's arms while she was breastfeeding the baby at border detention center; mother handcuffed for resisting https://t.co/vhbsGKrWLo
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 13, 2018
Because if it didn’t happen, the Trump administration could have avoided a whole lot of bad press:
The stories from the border make me ill. Babies ripped away from their breastfeeding mothers. Fathers driven to suicide. These are not American values. It’s cruel, inhumane, and does nothing make us a safer country. #FamiliesBelongTogether
— Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) June 15, 2018
How is this acceptable conduct for our government — separating breastfeeding children from their mothers? How are so few Republicans stepping up and speaking out about this outrage? We should all be standing up for these children. https://t.co/NkMkq2Gvjo
— Dick Durbin (@DickDurbin) June 14, 2018
I'm gonna need everyone to stop talking about being "on a dangerous path" or "headed to a dark place."
Our government is ripping breastfeeding babies from the arms of their mothers.
WE HAVE ARRIVED.
WE ARE THE DARKNESS.
— Amanda Guinzburg (@Guinz) June 15, 2018
I remember when we didn’t take babies away from immigrant mothers while they were breastfeeding. What a sad pathetic excuse for a government, run by morons and maniacs. History is watching. And guess what. Trump and his regime will be remembered as the nazis of this generation.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) June 14, 2018
Not that they wouldn’t have called the president a Nazi for something else.
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Related:
ACLU: Any school that reports a student to ICE is violating the Constitution https://t.co/OF1oPxytIE
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 23, 2018
'BOOM'! Ben Shapiro BUSTS Alyssa Milano after she decries ICE's 'inhumane' policy toward children https://t.co/E2Rvd0FWjn
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 29, 2018
Weekly Standard fact-check claims those ICE 'prison buses for babies' are pretty tricked out https://t.co/rxAR400X92
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 29, 2018
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