US senator ‘fought back tears’ after seeing separated girl sobbing among hundreds of children at migrant facility
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC
(Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images)A US senator says he “fought back tears” after seeing a teenage girl separated from her family sobbing among hundreds of children at a border migrant facility.
Senator Chris Murphy described the emotional scenes after meeting with youngsters during a fact-finding trip to the southern border.
The Democratic lawmaker said the 13-year-old girl had explained how “terrified” she was after being split up from her grandmother.
“I’m at the border today. Just met with four teenagers who made the long journey to America - one all the way from Chile; another fleeing a violent home – to seek a better life. They looked exhausted, hopeful.
“Remember, each ‘unaccompanied minor’ is a human being with a story.”
After leaving the processing facility, Mr Murphy added: “100s of kids packed into big open rooms. In a corner, I fought back tears as a 13 yr old girl sobbed uncontrollably explaining thru a translator how terrified she was, having been separated from her grandmother and without her parents.”
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Following Donald Trump’s departure from office there has been a spike in the number of immigrants arriving at the US border with Mexico.
Officials say that 100,000 migrants were detained in February alone, and the number could reach a 20-year high in 2021.
Observers say that the economies of countries such as Guatemala and Honduras have been badly damaged by the pandemic, as well as Central America being smashed by two hurricanes in November.
Just left the border processing facility. 100s of kids packed into big open rooms. In a corner, I fought back tears as a 13 yr old girl sobbbed uncontrollably explaining thru a translator how terrified she was, having been separated from her grandmother and without her parents.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 19, 2021
The Biden administration has said that Mr Trump destroyed the asylum system and that it will take tie to rebuild a humane one.
Officials have been told to accept unaccompanied minors, and more than 9,000 were in the custody of the US Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
