Audio clip reveals what it’s like in a camp with children separated from their parents at US border

The audio clip released by ProPublica claims to feature the voices of children from a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility.

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: June 20, 2018 4:30:35 pm

A screengrab from the audio clip released

First, there were the viral images of children being separated from their parents that highlighted the problem with the US government’s policy on illegal immigrants. Now, there’s an audio clip of children who have been separated from their parents.

The audio clip released by ProPublica is allegedly from a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility where the children are being kept. The nearly eight-minute long clip recorded by an anonymous source, almost exclusively features the voices of the children, most of whom are weeping about being separated from their parents.

One child can be heard constantly screaming for his parents, another can be heard trying to talk to a consular worker. The child is heard telling the consular worker to call her aunt, whose number she has memorised, to inform where she is.

“And then my mom can come as soon as possible,” the girl is heard saying. The authenticity of the audio was not independently verified.

The news organisation also spoke to the girl’s aunt who said she was unlikely to be able to help the girl.

Here’s the audio clip:

The US government’s controversial decision to separate children from their parents if they are detained for illegal immigration has drawn a lot of flak from various quarters. The Trump government has defended it as part of its ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to tackling illegal immigration.

An estimated 2,000 children have been separated from their parents between mid-April and the end of May.

While parents are held in jail, their children are sent to separate detention facilities, some in remote locations. Video footage released by the government has shown migrant children held in wire cages and sitting on concrete floors.

Trump, whose promise to crack down on illegal immigration was a major theme of his 2016 campaign and one he has carried into his presidency, has responded sharply to critics. He tweeted a video Tuesday blaming the Democrats for the legislation that forced the separation of children from their parents who were illegal immigrants.

The President claimed it was costing taxpayer money to allow illegal immigrants in the country and also that child smugglers were misusing the laws. Trump also blamed Mexico for not doing enough.