A new report by Physicians for Human Rights documents evidence of lasting psychological harm for migrant children and parents subjected to the Trump Administration's family separation policy, which was intended to dissuade migration to the nation's southern border.
PHR's investigation found behaviors and symptoms of the 17 adults and nine children evaluated to be consistent with having experienced severe trauma. Migrant evaluees exhibited evidence of mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety and major depressive disorders.
From July 2017 to December 2019, a reported 5,512 children were forcibly separated from their parents by the U.S. government, according the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.
Guests:
- Kathryn Hampton, MSt, senior asylum officer with Physicians for Human Rights
- Stuart Lustig, MD, child psychiatrist who conducted one of the evaluations that informed the report “You Will Never See Your Child Again” :The Persistent Psychological Effects of Family Separation
- Andre Segura, legal director of American Civil Liberties Union of Texas
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*This interview was recorded on Wednesday, February 26.
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