Donald Trump

Trump's Border Separations Left Children, Parents With Severe Trauma, Study Finds

The study by Physicians for Human Rights was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE 

TORNILLO, TX - JUNE 19: Children and workers are seen at a tent encampment recently built near the Tornillo Port of Entry on June 19, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas. The Trump administration is using the Tornillo tent facility to house immigrant children separated from their parents after they were caught entering the U.S. under the administration's zero tolerance policy.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Children and parents separated at the border under the Trump administration experienced severe psychological trauma that some are dealing with long after being reunited, the first qualitative study of children and parents has found.

The study by Physicians for Human Rights published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE concluded that the separation of 31 parents and children whose cases the group reviewed “constitutes cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment” and that the cases “rise to the level of torture” as defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

“In the cases reviewed, it is apparent that U.S. officials intentionally carried out actions causing severe pain and suffering in order to punish and intimidate mainly Central American asylum seekers to not pursue their asylum claims,” the study stated.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

Contact Us