An image of a child in a cage is spreading online along with the assertion that this is the result of the Trump administration’s decision to separate children from their parents if they try to cross the border illegally.
The photo has been circulating with the below captions –
This is what happens when a government believes people are “illegal.”
Kids in cages.
Crying child caught by the ICE. The current state of the USA, stuff children in cages.
During May and June 2018, thousands of children have been separated from their parents by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after trying to cross the Mexican-American border illegally – a move that has attracted much criticism.
However the photo above, which is being circulated heavily online claiming it shows one such child, was actually taken during a demonstration in Texas in June 2018, protesting against the immigration policies in the US. It was not taken in an immigration detention facility and does not show a child that has just been separated from their parents.
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The photo was published by the Brown Berets de Cemanahuac -Texas Chapter Facebook page along with a series of other photos clearly showing the moment to be a part of a demonstration. Other photos show the crying child both in and out of the cage, which is occupied by a number of other children holding banners that are protesting the US immigration policy of separating children and parents.
Leroy Pena, a member of the Brown Berets, originally uploaded the photos on June 11th along with the caption –
This was part of our protest yesterday, but this is actually going on right now, at this very moment, in child detention centers throughout the country. Some people are hopeful that they can appeal to Trump’s sense of decency and humanity and he’ll reconsider his inhumane policy and put a stop to this. Yet they forget one very important fact, Trump has no decency. How do you shame someone who has no shame?
However the photo began to circulate the Internet without that description, leading many to believe the photo was of a real detention facility.
It appears the crying child was upset after being put into a cage, and was subsequently let out, as can be seen from the below photo.
As such, we don’t recommend circulating the above photo along with the caption that it shows a child detention facility.