Experts 'blown away' by new Trump policy for young pregnant migrants: 'Couldn't be worse'
Medical experts said on Tuesday that they are "blown away" by the Trump administration's new policy for pregnant migrants in its custody, according to a report.
Last July, the Trump administration created a policy requiring young pregnant migrants, some of whom are as young as 13, to be sent to a specific facility in San Benito, Texas, a decision that was made over "urgent objections from some of the administration's own health and child welfare officials," according to seven officials who spoke with NPR about the policy.
The experts said the new policy is a sharp departure from a previous policy requiring pregnant immigrants to be placed in shelters or foster homes operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the report. It also shocked experts, who noted that the facility lacks basic health care infrastructure for the women and exists in a state that has made abortion care illegal.
"This group of kids is clearly recognized as our most vulnerable," one of the officials told NPR., adding that ORR staff are "losing sleep over it, wondering if kids are going to be placed in programs where they're not going to have access to the care they need."
Another policy professional described the policy as "cruel."
"It's cruel, it's just cruel," one of the officials told NPR. "They don't care about any of these kids. They're playing politics with children's health."
The policy also alarmed medical professionals.
"You couldn't set up a worse scenario," Dr. Blair Cushing, who runs a women's health clinic about 45 minutes from San Benito, told NPR. "I'm kind of blown away by the level of risk that they're concentrating in this facility."