US held record number of migrant kids in custody in 2019
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, MARTHA MENDOZA AND GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press
COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) - The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks in her father's arms, as he set out to seek asylum in the United States. Now she won't even look at him.
After being forcibly separated at the border by government officials, sexually abused in U.S. foster care and deported, she arrived back in Honduras convinced her once-beloved father abandoned her. He fears their bond is forever broken.
"I think about this trauma staying with her too, because the trauma has remained with me and still hasn't faded," he said, days after their reunion.
This month new government data shows the little girl is one of an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children held in U.S. government custody over the past year, enough infants, toddlers, kids and teens to overflow the typical NFL stadium.
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