Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro accused the Trump administration of “intentionally” and “permanently” separating children from their parents and putting them up for adoption.
Except the article from The Hill that Castro used to ‘prove’ his point clearly stated that the incidents occurred during the Obama administration.
The Trump Administration intentionally separated kids from their parents and then put the kids up for adoption — permanently separating them.
This is a human rights violation committed by the United States government. https://t.co/DGeV0Na4WG
— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) October 19, 2019
The 2018 article points to inconsistencies in federal and state law that allow the children of migrants who have been permanently deported to be adopted by U.S. families. It cites AP as having reviewed several cases, including that of “Alexa Ramos, who was separated from her mother, Araceli, for 15 months,” put in foster care, then eventually reunited with her birth mother in February 2017.
Migrant children quietly being adopted after their parents are deported: report https://t.co/khZQwq4LRL pic.twitter.com/ekph2gPfWZ
— The Hill (@thehill) October 10, 2018
The separation of Ramos, and all the other cases reviewed, all occurred during the Obama administration, a fact Castro apparently missed or ignored in his haste to post the piece. (RELATED: Dan Crenshaw Lays Out Border Plan, Calls For Common Sense — And A Wall)
From the article:
In a statement to The Hill, a DHS spokeswoman said that all of the cases the AP reviewed came under the Obama administration, emphasizing that all of the adoptions were done legally.
“DHS takes seriously our responsibility for those in our custody — without the opportunity to look into these claims as we were not provided a name, alien number, or identifying details we find this claim to be baseless,” the spokeswoman said.
In July, House Democrats tweeted, then deleted, a picture of cages during the Obama administration to promote an investigation into “inhumane treatment” at the border.