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Two young Louisville parents face felony child abuse charges after investigators say they neglected their infant twin girls born prematurely, according to court documents.

David and Kassandra Krutina's twins were born Feb. 19 at 27 weeks of pregnancy, Cass County Sheriff's Sgt. Douglas Durkan said in an affidavit for their arrests.

Daughter Samantha weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces, and Charlotte weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces, at birth, the affidavit said.

They remained in the neonatal intensive care unit at CHI Bergan Mercy in Omaha until they had gained more than two pounds and were discharged April 28, Durkan said.

But on Sept. 1, a hospital social worker called the Cass County Sheriff's Office after the Krutinas brought the girls into Children's Hospital in Omaha shortly before 8 p.m., the sergeant said.

The 6-month-old girls appeared malnourished, and Samantha was unresponsive, the affidavit said.

Hospital staff performed CPR on her as her sister was examined in the emergency room, but Samantha died at 11 p.m.

The day she died, Samantha weighed less than when she was discharged from the ICU, Durkan said.

Hospital staff reported concerns about the behavior of the 23-year-old father and 20-year-old mother that night, the affidavit said.

"Prior to Samantha passing, the parents wanted to go home because they were tired and hungry and they had to let their dogs out," Durkan said. "The parents left the hospital only a short time (20 minutes) after Samantha passing."

An autopsy determined she died of a septic bacterial infection caused by malnourishment, the affidavit said.

Charlotte weighed about five ounces more than she had when she was discharged from the ICU four months earlier, the sergeant said.

A pediatric expert on child abuse contacted by investigators said there wasn't any medical explanation for the lack of weight gain by the twins, the affidavit said.

In Samantha's case, her malnourished body couldn't regulate temperature and thus support her immune system, leading to the fatal infection, the doctor told investigators.

Medical records showed that after the babies were discharged in April they were only taken to their doctor once, two days later, Durkan said.

David Krutina told investigators they had not been taking the children to their checkups because of an insurance coverage issue.

The Krutinas had insurance offered through David Krutina's employer in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

That plan covered birth and the girls' care in the ICU but didn't cover appointments after the twins were discharged.

Kassandra Krutina told investigators she fed the girls about every three hours.

Attorneys for the Krutinas didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Charlotte has been placed with a relative, gained an appropriate amount of weight and is being seen by a doctor on a weekly basis.

"Charlotte is thriving so well now that others are taking care of her," Durkan said in the affidavit. "It proves that something was not being done from April through September."

The Krutinas have two other children, ages 5 and 1½.

David and Kassandra Krutina each face one count of child abuse resulting in death, negligently, and child abuse negligently causing serious bodily injury.

Both were arrested on warrants and appeared in Cass County Court on Friday, where a judge set their bonds each at $10,000.

If convicted, each faces up to 23 years in prison.
Reach the writer at 402-473-2657 or rjohnson@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSRileyJohnson.

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Parents accused of child abuse following death of infant twin girl born premature

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Two young Louisville parents face felony child abuse charges after investigators say they neglected their infant twin girls born prematurely, according to court documents. David and Kassandra Krutina's twins were born Feb. 19 at 27 weeks of pregnancy, Cass County Sheriff's Sgt. Douglas Durkan said in an affidavit for their arrests.

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Each day more than five children die as a result of abuse or neglect. On average, a child abuse report is made every 10 seconds for a total of approximately 3.3 million child abuse reports annually. Childhelp has developed the following child abuse prevention guidelines to help keep your child, or a child you care for, from becoming a statistic.

Child Abuse Prevention Guidelines

Never discipline your child when your anger is out of control.

Participate in your child's activities and get to know your child's friends.

Never leave your child unattended, especially in the car.

Teach your child to use their voice to allow them to prevent abuse in their own life.

Ask questions; for example, when your child tells you he or she doesn't want to be with someone, this could be a red flag.

Listen to them and believe what they say.

Be aware of changes in your child's behavior or attitude and inquire into it.

Teach your child what to do if you and your child become separated while away from home.

Teach your child the correct names of his/her private body parts.

Be alert for any talk that reveals premature sexual understanding.

Pay attention when someone shows greater than normal interest in your child.

Make certain your child's school or day care center will release him/her only to you or someone you officially designate.

To learn more about child abuse prevention, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD® (1-800-422-4453). The 24/7 hotline is staffed with professional counselors who offer information about child abuse prevention as well as crisis intervention, literature and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service and support resources.

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Each day more than five children die as a result of abuse or neglect. On average, a child abuse report is made every 10 seconds for a total of approximately 3.3 million child abuse reports annually. Childhelp has developed the following child abuse prevention guidelines to help keep your child, or a child you care for, from becoming a statistic.

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Because of Child Neglect more than five children each day die. Because people want to not have that kid or let an innocent child suffer because their parents want to get their anger out so they hurt them. Because of that children get beaten and hurt then die because of their wounds of suffering.

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Daughter Samantha weighed 2 pounds, 3 ounces, and Charlotte weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces, at birth. Hospital staff reported concerns about the behavior of the 23-year-old father and 20-year-old mother that night

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hot car deaths: more than 36 kids die in hot cars every year - cnn

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More than 36 kids die in hot cars every year and July is usually the deadliest month

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It's every parent's unfathomable nightmare, yet it happens several times a year. And the hottest months - such as July - bring the highest number of deaths.

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Currently only 19 states in the US have laws that specifically make it illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Is your state one of them?

Learn more about your state's regulations:

California: V C Section 15620 Prohibition Against Unattended Child in Vehicle Read the law

Connecticut: Sec 53-21a Leaving child unsupervised in place of public accommodation or vehicle Read the law

Florida: FSS 316.6135 Leaving children unattended or unsupervised in motor vehicle Read the law

Hawaii: 291C-121.5 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle Read the law

Illinois: Sec. 12 21.6. Endangering the life or health of a child Read the law

Kentucky: 507.040 Manslaughter in the Second Degree Read the law

Louisiana: RS 32:295.3 Leaving children unattended and unsupervised in motor vehicles Read the law

Maryland: 5-801 Unattended Children Read the law

Michigan: 750.135a.added Leaving child unattended in vehicle Read the law

Missouri: Sec 568.052 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle who causes an accident Read the law

Nebraska: Revised 28-710 Child Protection Act Read the law

Nevada: 202.575 Leaving child unattended in motor vehicle Read the law

Oklahoma: Unattended Children in Motor Vehicle Safety Act Read the law

Pennsylvania: 3701.1. Leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle Read the law

Rhode Island: § 31-22-22.1. Child passenger protection - Warnings of hazard and risk.Read the law

Tennessee: 55-10-803. Offense of leaving child unattended in motor vehicle Read the law

Texas: Sec. 22.10. Leaving a child in a vehicle Read the law

Utah: 76-10-2202 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle Read the law

Washington: RCW 46.61.685 Leaving children unattended in standing vehicle with motor running Read the law

Good Samaritan State Laws Specific to Rescuing Children in Cars: State Laws Requiring Daycare Van or School Bus Alarms State child restraint laws
State laws regulating car seat, booster seat and seat belt use should be considered a bare minimum for safety, especially when it comes to child restraint. KidsAndCars.org recommends that parents follow recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The AAP recommends:

Infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat. Most convertible seats have limits that will allow children to ride rear-facing for 2 years or more.

Once they are facing forward, children should use a forward-facing car safety seat with a harness for as long as possible, until they reach the height and weight limits for their seats. Many seats can accommodate children up to 65 pounds or more.

When children exceed these limits, they should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle's lap and shoulder seat belt fits properly. This is often when they have reached at least 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years old.

When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.

All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.State Laws - http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/safetybeltuse?topicName=child-safety

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Currently only 19 states in the US have laws that specifically make it illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Is your state one of them?

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Children being left in hot cars is illegal. You would think why would people do that. But some people think that they would be in the store for like 5 minutes but I turns out someone already called the police or your in there longer then expected. Their is some people who think that there car is fine unlocked when they are like putting their groceries up or something like that but then it turns on them when the car locks and they have to wait until the police comes to unlock the car and you have to wait and watch your kids cry and sweat till they come!

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The hottest months inevitably bring the highest numbers of hypothermia incidents, so summer, late spring and early fall are the most treacherous times. As of July 20, 26 children have already lost their lives this year in hot car death incidents.
On July 18th, a 3-year-old boy in Houston died when he was left in a bus after a day care field trip. Records from the day care show the boy had erroneously been accounted for as the group reassembled after the trip. By the time the deadly oversight was realized, he had been in the bus for at least three and a half hours. When police arrived, the temperature in the bus was 113 degrees.

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The "cage" fight is just one of a series of Orwellian deployments of language from the White House recently. On Sunday, for example, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen railed against "misreporting by Members [of Congress], press & advocacy groups" and tweeted:

We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.
- Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) June 17, 2018

This is violence to the English language. The claim is that the policy is aimed at adults, not at children, but the effect is the same. In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the government would charge anyone entering the country illegally with a crime. Under the Flores agreement, a 1997 legal settlement, the federal government must hold children in the least restrictive setting possible. That means the government can't imprison children alongside their parents.

The administration knew full well that the result would be separations. "If you don't want your child separated, then don't bring them across the border illegally," Sessions said in May. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly also said in May that the goal was to dissuade unauthorized immigrants from entering. "The laws are the laws. But a big name of the game is deterrence," he told NPR. "It could be a tough deterrent-would be a tough deterrent."

Nielsen's words are at odds with her colleagues' in the administration. They're even at odds with her own. By Monday, she was defending the same policy she claimed didn't exist, saying in New Orleans, "It's important to understand that these minors are very well taken care of. Don't believe the press."

President Trump, meanwhile, continues to claim that the separations are somehow Democrats' fault, even though Democrats do not control either house of Congress, the separations only began last month, and his claim has been repeatedly debunked. Trump continues to insist that he dislikes the policy and continues to blame his opponents, even though he could reverse the policy himself.

In a similar vein, First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement Sunday that garnered a lot of attention as a criticism of the policy.

"Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform," a spokeswoman said. "She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart."

This, too, plays games with the truth, suggesting that the reason for the policy is that both parties won't simply come together to pass immigration reform. But the battle in Congress over reform right now is mostly within the Republican Party, as moderates, conservatives, and leadership in the House fight over how to proceed on immigration.

In theory, the falsehoods in these statements ought to be plain-the representations by Donald and Melania Trump and Nielsen are simply wrong, while Sessions and Kelly are more honest, if politically reckless, in their comments. But the contradictions among high-level officials don't bother the White House, which aims to stir up confusion rather than debate an issue it's likely to lose. Hence the Surrealist proposition of the moment: Ceci n'est pas une cage.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

David A. Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers U.S. politics and global news.

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Are Children Being Kept in 'Cages' at the Border?

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The "cage" fight is just one of a series of Orwellian deployments of language from the White House recently. On Sunday, for example, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen railed against "misreporting by Members [of Congress], press & advocacy groups" and tweeted: We do not have a policy of separating families at the border.

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I think that people that are coming in the right way should not be in trouble and being left in cages. Its kids why would you leave children in cages and who knows how long they would be left in there. If I was in a cage I would gone crazy because I'm in a cage that I'm trapped in it would be like being trapped in a bubble with other people and nobody wants that!

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Here’s what no one disputes: When the children are separated from their parents, they’re sent to facilities where they are kept in chain-link pens they can’t leave. But are those cages? It depends on whom you ask. Before taking center stage on Sunday, this debate had been slowly building for weeks. Earlier this month, The Washington Post’s fact-checkers scolded Senator Jeff Merkley for saying children were kept in cages, only to earn a counter-rebuke from MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff, who tweeted, “I saw myself: there are kids, families and adults in cages, cells, kennels—whatever you call them. No question.”

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More than 5 children get abused everyday and that is horrible. Because no kid wants that a kid wants to be a kid and not get beaten because their parents are angered and they need to get their anger out and the only way is to beat their children.

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Child Abuse Prevention Guidelines

Never discipline your child when your anger is out of control.

Participate in your child’s activities and get to know your child’s friends.

Never leave your child unattended, especially in the car.

Teach your child to use their voice to allow them to prevent abuse in their own life.

Ask questions; for example, when your child tells you he or she doesn’t want to be with someone, this could be a red flag.

Listen to them and believe what they say.

Be aware of changes in your child’s behavior or attitude and inquire into it.

Teach your child what to do if you and your child become separated while away from home.

Teach your child the correct names of his/her private body parts.

Be alert for any talk that reveals premature sexual understanding.

Pay attention when someone shows greater than normal interest in your child.

Make certain your child’s school or day care center will release him/her only to you or someone you officially designate.

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​A child left in a hot car can die of heat stroke very quickly. But this tragedy can be prevented.

Facts about Child Heat Stroke in Cars
Here are some facts about hot cars and keeping kids safe:

Heat stroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths in children under 15.

Heat stroke can happen when the body is not able to cool itself quickly enough.

A child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's does.

When left in a hot car, a child's major organs begin to shut down when his temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

A child can die when his temperature reaches 107 degrees F.

Cars heat up quickly! In just 10 minutes, a car can heat up 20 degrees F.

Cracking a window and/or air conditioning does little to keep it cool once the car is turned off.

Heat stroke can happen when the outside temperature is as low as 57 degrees F.

Because of climate change, we can expect more days to be hotter. Also, hotter days can happen throughout the year.

Set Reminders!

Here are some things you can do to prevent the unthinkable from happening to your child:

Always check the back seat and make sure all children are out of the car before locking it and walking away.

Avoid distractions while driving, especially cell phone use.

Be extra alert when there is a change in your routine, like when someone else is driving your child or you take a different route to work or child care.

Have your child care provider call if your child is more than 10 minutes late.

Put your cell phone, bag, or purse in the back seat, so you check the back seat when you arrive at your destination.

If someone else is driving your child, always check to make sure he has arrived safely.

Any parent or caregiver, even a very loving and attentive one, can forget a child is in the back seat. Being especially busy or distracted or having a change from the usual routine increases the risk.

Lock Your Car!

Keep your car locked when it is parked to prevent a curious child from entering when no one is around. Many hot car deaths have occurred when a child mistakenly locks himself inside.

Make sure children do not have easy access to your car keys. Store them out of a child's reach.

Teach children that cars are not safe places to play.

Keep rear fold-down seats closed to prevent a child from crawling into the trunk from inside the car.

Remind children that cars, especially car trunks, should not be used for games like hide-and-seek.

Here are some reminders for parents and caregivers:

Important Tip: If a child is missing, always check the pool first, and then the car, including the trunk!

Take Action if You See a Child Alone in a Car!

Protecting children is everyone's business! If you see an unattended child in a car and are concerned, you should immediately call 911.

If the child is not responsive or is in pain, immediately:

If the child is responsive:

Additional Information & Resources:

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hot car~ car death~ car seat~ vehicle~ accidental death~ forgot in car~ toddler died~ look before you lock~ prevent death~ parents~ baby~ temperature~ summer~ heat up~ body heat~ playing by the car~ car keys~ childproof garage

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​A child left in a hot car can die of heat stroke very quickly. But this tragedy can be prevented. Here are some facts about hot cars and keeping kids safe: Heat stroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths in children under 15.

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Having reminders and setting laws can help a lot. Being aware and having a second key on you just incase you locked you keys in the car and make sure that children cant unlock and lock the car or if they do you can teach them how to unlock the car and that it isn't funny to do that. Teach them about how bad it is to leave kids in the car.

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Set Reminders!

Any parent or caregiver, even a very loving and attentive one, can forget a child is in the back seat. Being especially busy or distracted or having a change from the usual routine increases the risk.

Here are some things you can do to prevent the unthinkable from happening to your child:

Always check the back seat and make sure all children are out of the car before locking it and walking away.

Avoid distractions while driving, especially cell phone use.

Be extra alert when there is a change in your routine, like when someone else is driving your child or you take a different route to work or child care.

Have your child care provider call if your child is more than 10 minutes late.

Put your cell phone, bag, or purse in the back seat, so you check the back seat when you arrive at your destination.

If someone else is driving your child, always check to make sure he has arrived safely.

Lock Your Car!

Keep your car locked when it is parked to prevent a curious child from entering when no one is around. Many hot car deaths have occurred when a child mistakenly locks himself inside.

Here are some reminders for parents and caregivers:

Make sure children do not have easy access to your car keys. Store them out of a child's reach.

Teach children that cars are not safe places to play.

Keep rear fold-down seats closed to prevent a child from crawling into the trunk from inside the car.

Remind children that cars, especially car trunks, should not be used for games like hide-and-seek.

Important Tip: If a child is missing, always check the pool first, and then the car, including the trunk!

Take Action if You See a Child Alone in a Car!

Protecting children is everyone's business! If you see an unattended child in a car and are concerned, you should immediately call 911.

If the child is not responsive or is in pain, immediately:

Call 911.

Get the child out of the car.

Spray the child with cool water (not in an ice bath).

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Having laws can be very helpful. It can remind the parents about safety and making them more aware. Having laws can make the parents that don't make it an accident and do it for child neglect will go to jail. But people that have done it on accident like their child locked them self in the car. So that is very helpful.

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California: V C Section 15620 Prohibition Against Unattended Child in Vehicle Read the law

Connecticut: Sec 53-21a Leaving child unsupervised in place of public accommodation or vehicle Read the law

Florida: FSS 316.6135 Leaving children unattended or unsupervised in motor vehicle.

Hawaii: 291C-121.5 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

Illinois: Sec. 12 21.6. Endangering the life or health of a child.

Kentucky: 507.040 Manslaughter in the Second Degree.

Louisiana: RS 32:295.3 Leaving children unattended and unsupervised in motor vehicles.

Maryland: 5-801 Unattended Children.

Michigan: 750.135a.added Leaving child unattended in vehicle.

Missouri: Sec 568.052 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle who causes an accident.

Nebraska: Revised 28-710 Child Protection Act.

Nevada: 202.575 Leaving child unattended in motor vehicle.

Oklahoma: Unattended Children in Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Pennsylvania: 3701.1. Leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle.

Rhode Island: § 31-22-22.1. Child passenger protection – Warnings of hazard and risk.

Tennessee: 55-10-803. Offense of leaving child unattended in motor vehicle.

Texas: Sec. 22.10. Leaving a child in a vehicle.

Utah: 76-10-2202 Leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

Washington: RCW 46.61.685 Leaving children unattended in standing vehicle with motor running.

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Lies are a lot like vicious mosquitoes. They're difficult to swat away, annoying at best and, at worst, occasional carriers of lethal disease. Especially difficult to repel these days when each time the Trump administration addresses our immigration policy, swarms of mistruths and misstatements fill the air, distracting us with fear and distorting our sense of reality.

But in the last week, truth has scored a significant victory over falsehood. And we owe a debt of thanks to reporters like NBC's Mariana Atencio and Jacob Soboroff for their continuing brave attempts to penetrate the Trump administration's coordinated propaganda campaign and blackout to hide from us, the Red Cross and legal advocates the despicable dark side of their zero-tolerance policy.

The press' determination to go to our southern border towns to the courts and detention centers, to travel to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala to interview would-be immigrants or those deported back to their home countries has provided not only the nation but the world with clear and compelling evidence of the disastrous consequences of the Trump administration's calculated determination to use family separation as a tool to keep brown immigrant families from gaining sanctuary.

Likewise, we owe great thanks to civil rights attorney Jennifer Harbury for publicizing the heartbreaking audio a whistleblowing client of hers recorded inside a detention center. Millions have heard the desperate voices of children wrenched from their parents.

For those of you who had never heard of Jennifer Harbury, she knows better than most Americans the dreadful toll political and civil violence wreaks on the people of Latin America. And she, more than most, appreciates the multiple reasons these families have travelled so very far in search of asylum. Her husband, Efrain Bamaca Velasquez, a leader of the Mayan resistance in Guatemala, was tortured and murdered by their military. And she mounted a hunger strike to bring attention to his case.

Years later, she is helping to bring light to the plight of this new generation of the disappeared, the infants and children removed, sometimes under cover of darkness, to 13 different states, far from the comfort of their families.

The administration has made a prolonged effort to deceive the American people. They have made multiple attempts to evade responsibility for a policy they clearly designed and proudly implemented. Their goal: to make it nearly impossible for immigrants to utilize the normal and legal process for seeking asylum. They have cynically mischaracterized mothers and children trying to spare their children from unbearable gang violence in Honduras and El Salvador and Guatemala as dangerous members of those very gangs.

This time, thankfully, the free press that our president mocks day after day as fake gave us the chance to hear firsthand from these mothers and fathers and their children, to see for ourselves the cages the children were sent to and to hear their cries. It was the press who held up to us - forced us, in fact - to acknowledge what Trump's 2018 America really looks like, to see our government imprison those seeking safety in what used to be the home of the brave and land of the free.

The president couldn't - can't - help himself. His racism is palpable, his profound dislike of Latino immigrants is so manifestly clear. But most shocking is how uncontrollable and undeniable his desire is to punish them for acting as if they too deserve a chance to join the rest of us.

Have you seen those brave women, who have journeyed so far, infest our country like roaches? Really, not my country, but his.

As TIME Magazine recounts, Attorney General Sessions was excited to announce his zero-tolerance policy and to enthusiastically warn potential immigrants: "If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law," Sessions said Monday at a law enforcement event in Scottsdale, Ariz. "If you don't like that, then don't smuggle children over our border." (Emphasis added.)

At the same time, the administration deliberately refused to add more border personnel at official ports of entry while quite aware that there weren't enough personnel to handle either asylum claims or the increased caseload for criminal prosecutions for illegally crossing the border in a timely matter. No wonder many of these families waited an interminable amount of time trying to obey the rules then, in despair, attempted to cross the border illegally and to find border guards to whom they could declare their desire for asylum. No wonder so many adults pleaded guilty when told that would speed up reunification with their children.

VOX reported: "journalist Robert Moore ( writing for Texas Monthly) witnessed a group of Guatemalans try to cross the bridge that connects Ciudad Juarez in Mexico to El Paso, Texas. They aimed to present themselves at the official US port of entry, on the other side of the bridge, where Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials check the papers of people entering the country. But at the top of the bridge - right where Mexican territory ends and US territory begins - the group was stopped by CBP agents and asked for identification, and then told that there wasn't room at the port of entry to process asylum claims."

VOX continues: "Ultimately, three of the Guatemalans, who had proceeded a few steps into US territory, were allowed to go through to the port. But according to Moore, those who hadn't yet set foot in US territory were blocked from doing so: Two CBP agents who had been standing a few feet from the border stepped forward and stood directly on the line. I witnessed one of the agents, whose nametag said Augustin, take a couple steps into Mexico to prevent one of the Guatemalans from crossing into the United States. CBP spokesman Maier later said port officials denied that any agent crossed into Mexico."

As Attorney General Sessions insisted, under his policy of zero tolerance: "If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It's that simple ... We are dealing with a massive influx of illegal aliens across our Southwest Border. But we're not going to stand for this." (Emphasis added)

Chief of Staff John Kelly told NPR he strongly agreed: "Let me step back and tell you that the vast majority of the people that move illegally into United States are not bad people. They're not criminals ... But they're also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. They're overwhelmingly rural people in the countries they come from - fourth, fifth, sixth grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English, obviously that's a big thing. They don't speak English. They don't integrate well, they don't have skills. They're not bad people. They're coming here for a reason. And I sympathize with the reason. But the laws are the laws. But a big name of the game is deterrence ... The children will be taken care of - put into foster care or whatever. But the big point is they elected to come illegally into the United States and this is a technique that no one hopes will be used extensively or for very long." (Emphasis added.)

They don't integrate well. When have we heard such a notion?

But look at the numbers. This is a manufactured crisis:

And here is the administration's solution to that exaggerated emergency:

Brown kids in cages, sleeping on thin mats on concrete, covered by thin blankets-a Trumpian deterrence.

According to the New York Times, presidential advisor Stephen Miller doubled down on the policy and reinforced one of the president's fallback mantras, that anything they did was better than what the Democrats would do: "'You have one party that's in favor of open borders, and you have one party that wants to secure the border,'" Mr. Miller said. "'And all day long the American people are going to side with the party that wants to secure the border. And not by a little bit. Not 55-45. 60-40. 70-30. 80-20. I'm talking 90-10 on that.'"

According to the Times, Miller noted: "The U.S. government has a sacred, solemn, inviolable obligation to enforce the laws of the United States to stop illegal immigration and to secure and protect the borders ..." Asked if the images of children being taken from their parents would eventually make the president back down, Mr. Miller was adamant. 'There is no straying from that mission,' he said."

The Times continued its report: "On Monday, as Mr. Trump vowed that ' the United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility,' he continued to falsely blame congressional Democrats for a policy driven by Mr. Miller and Mr. Sessions ... Echoing the president, Mr. Sessions urged lawmakers to pass legislation to build a wall along the southern border and impose new restrictions on immigration that he said would end legal 'loopholes' that let illegal immigrants in. 'If we build the wall, if we pass legislation to end the lawlessness,' Mr. Sessions said, 'we won't face these terrible choices.'"

Journalists translated political rhetoric into reality:

But it wasn't just journalists sharing what they saw. Sen. Merkley of Oregon told CNN: "He saw undocumented children in cages sleeping on thin space blankets on a concrete floor at a border processing facility. He was then barred from entering another immigrant detention center, he told CNN Monday in an interview. 'They have big cages made out of fencing and wire and nets stretched across the top of them so people can't climb out,' Merkley told CNN's Alisyn Camerota of the McAllen border patrol station in Texas he toured on Sunday. 'It's just a concrete floor and people are being given these space blankets to sleep on. A space blanket is ... the equivalent of foil. So obviously a very uncomfortable situation to be in.'"

Merkley's use of the word "cage" caused great consternation - quite ironic considering that the administration made it impossible for the journalists to take their own photos or video, and that the images that quickly appeared on front pages and on television screens all came from the government. Not only was the press forbidden to enter almost all facilities, to talk to the children or adequately report, but the administration made it impossible for duly elected officials to inspect the facilities in their own Congressional districts.

Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the Department of Homeland Security responded quickly. Her tweet starkly challenged Merkley:

When tweeting didn't seem to work, DHS issued a press release entitled "Myth vs. Fact: DHS Zero-Tolerance Policy." It states: "In recent days, we have seen reporters, Members of Congress, and other groups mislead the public on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) zero-tolerance policy ... Myth: DHS and HHS houses migrants in 'inhumane fenced cages' or in an 'ice box.' Fact: DHS and HHS utilize short-term facilities in order to process and temporarily hold migrants that have been apprehended. These short-term facilities do not employ the use of 'cages' to house minors. Certain facilities make use of barriers in order to separate minors of different genders and age groups - for the safety of those who are being held."

This time the attempt to tar the press with the charge of fake news failed miserably when the public saw and heard the evidence for themselves. We soon saw children without their parents in cages, in tents, and watched mothers tell TV reporters how their children were taken from them, often without warning or without the opportunity to explain to their children what was about to happen to them.

Jacob Soboroff described his experience in Vanity Fair: "The McAllen Border Patrol facility is the first place kids and their families caught crossing the border illegally in the area are brought by Border Patrol. It's where they are booked. It's a massive facility: 77,000 square feet, with 55,000 dedicated specifically to families and unaccompanied kids. The idea is to get them out of there within 72 hours, either to ICE family detention or to an H.H.S. shelter like the one I saw in Brownsville ... in addition to the minors who had entered the U.S. alone illegally for years, there was a new group of tenants at the Border Patrol's center: so-called 'tender age' children, including babies, who were taken away from their parents as they were carted off and charged with the federal misdemeanor of entering the United States illegally. Many of those parents had arrived seeking asylum from violence in a Central American country.

"The whole tour was shocking, and by now you've likely seen the handout images from the government: the mylar blankets, the mattresses on the concrete floors, and the cages. That's what they were: cages. But there's something you didn't see. It wasn't in the handout photos or the video of us getting led around. It was something I'll never forget.

"Border Patrol later told me it was a play area. Really, it was a cage filled with what I remember being at least a dozen young kids, some of whom had been separated from their parents. Some were sitting on the floor and some were standing, and they were being supervised by a contracted guard at the center of the cage in a watchtower. Four social workers waited outside in case they were needed. I was looking at caged kids. Ripped from their parents. In the United States of America."

Then the Harbury audio presented the cries of the children suddenly transported to a world without parents. We could hear the pleas of children asking for help from shelter personnel to contact their relatives. Suzanne Gamboa of NBC reports: "It's clear in the audio the children are distressed. 'Can I go with my aunt at least?' asks a young girl who tells officials she's memorized her aunt's number. 'I want her to come.' The other child continues to cry 'Papá, papá.' A woman in the audio says the girl hasn't eaten because she wants to first talk to her aunt. 'My mommy says they'll bring my aunt as soon as possible, so I can go with her,' she said. The children's cries elicit a response from a border agent: 'Well, we have an orchestra here. What's missing is a conductor.'" If you haven't heard this, here it is:

Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter offer a comprehensive analysis and timeline of the changes in U.S. policy for Policy Beat: "Frustrated by evidence of recent upticks in migrant apprehensions at the U.S. Southwest border-and by the imagery of a caravan of Central Americans making their way north-the Trump administration recently unveiled dramatic policy changes to stem the flows. These include a de facto policy of separating families apprehended between ports of entry, possibly housing the children on military bases, as well as changing the definition of who qualifies as an unaccompanied minor. The administration also announced that all those apprehended crossing the border illegally will be criminally prosecuted for illegal entry or re-entry."

Yet: "Apprehensions in FY 2017 fell to just under 304,000, the lowest point since 1971-and a far cry from the peak of 1.6 million in FY 2000. In recent months, apprehensions have begun to rise slightly again, indicating that they may be returning to the 330,000 to 480,000 level seen in FY 2010 through 2016."

"On April 7, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department would prosecute everyone U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehends crossing the border illegally, without exception. Under this zero-tolerance policy, adults apprehended between ports of entry will be transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), tried in criminal court for the misdemeanor of illegal entry and/or the felony of illegal re-entry, sent to federal jail or prison to serve their sentence, and then handed back to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be removed from the country ... In April 2017, Sessions issued a memo instructing federal prosecutors to prioritize immigration crimes."

Why are children taken from their parents? Chishti and Bolter explain the ramifications of this zero-tolerance policy: "Family Separation: Because immigrant children apprehended at the border cannot legally be held in federal criminal detention facilities, they will inevitably be separated from their parents when the adults are criminally prosecuted. Children will be referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that handles unaccompanied minors, and will be treated as though they arrived on their own. ORR will release them to an adult sponsor in the United States (a relative or family friend) if one is available, and if not, to a foster family; otherwise, the children will be held in an ORR shelter." (Emphasis added.)

All this is complicated by recent court decisions: "The 1997 Flores v. Reno court settlement, which remains in effect, requires the government to release children from immigration detention without unnecessary delay to, in order of preference, parents, other adult relatives, or licensed programs willing to accept custody. If children cannot be released, Flores requires the government to hold them in the "least restrictive" setting available. The 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) codified parts of the settlement into federal law.

In 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of the Central District Court in California ruled that the Flores requirements apply to both unaccompanied minors and children apprehended with their parents, meaning that all minors must be released from detention if possible. Gee also ordered DHS to release parents detained along with their children. An appeals court in 2016 affirmed that Flores applied to all children, but reversed the ruling that parents should be released as well."

So where are we now?

Faced by an enormous barrage of bad publicity, the administration slammed on its brakes, pretended its policy of family separation wasn't its policy and has tried desperately to convince people it cares about immigrant children. Where once he mightily insisted an executive order couldn't change their zero-tolerance policy, the president invited the television cameras to witness the issuance of an executive order.

While many imagine this executive order as a victory, it opens the door for the expansion of brown kids in cages to brown families in prison. Read carefully:

"(c) The Secretary of Defense shall take all legally available measures to provide to the Secretary, upon request, any existing facilities available for the housing and care of alien families, and shall construct such facilities if necessary and consistent with law. The Secretary, to the extent permitted by law, shall be responsible for reimbursement for the use of these facilities.

(d) Heads of executive departments and agencies shall, to the extent consistent with law, make available to the Secretary, for the housing and care of alien families pending court proceedings for improper entry, any facilities that are appropriate for such purposes. The Secretary, to the extent permitted by law, shall be responsible for reimbursement for the use of these facilities.

(e) The Attorney General shall promptly file a request with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to modify the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Sessions, CV 85-4544 (" Flores settlement"), in a manner that would permit the Secretary, under present resource constraints, to detain alien families together throughout the pendency of criminal proceedings for improper entry or any removal or other immigration proceedings.

Sec. 4. Prioritization of Immigration Proceedings Involving Alien Families. The Attorney General shall, to the extent practicable, prioritize the adjudication of cases involving detained families." (Emphasis added.)

They are not willing to abandon their agenda. Here's an idea what immigrants still face. Attorney General Sessions has used his extensive authority to make it far more difficult for those victims of gang violence and domestic violence from utilizing these realities to make a claim for asylum. Here's his recent determination: " Matter of A-R-C-G-, 26 I&N Dec. 338 (BIA 2014) is overruled. That decision was wrongly decided and should not have been issued as a precedential decision."

Sessions wrote: "Generally, claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by non-governmental actors will not qualify for asylum. While I do not decide that violence inflicted by non-governmental actors may never serve as the basis for an asylum or withholding application based on membership in a particular social group, in practice such claims are unlikely to satisfy the statutory grounds for proving group persecution that the government is unable or unwilling to address. The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes-such as domestic violence or gang violence-or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim." (Emphasis added.)

Their policies under enormous attack by the press and under legal challenge by the ACLU and a small army of volunteer attorneys and now opposed by much of the public, the President Trump, Attorney General Sessions, and Secretary Nielsen have waged a continuous propaganda campaign. They continuously conflate a group of parents so desperate to save their children they will endure enormous hardship, pain, even separation with illegal criminal immigrants. But we are witnessing not immigration by choice but emigration by necessity.

Access is still denied to the press and many politicians. Here are several revelatory tweets:

Enjoy for a moment the accomplishments of our free press in bringing light to darkness. But prepare yourselves for the next advance against these immigrant families. Thanks to TIME Magazine's Philip Elliot and W.J. Hennigan and a leaker at the Navy, we learned about this disturbing vision for the near future:

"The U.S. Navy is preparing plans to construct sprawling detention centers for tens of thousands of immigrants on remote bases in California, Alabama and Arizona, escalating the military's task in implementing President Donald Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy for people caught crossing the Southern border, according to a copy of a draft memo obtained by TIME.

"The internal document, drafted for the Navy Secretary's approval, signals how the military is anticipating its role in Trump's immigration crackdown. The planning document indicates a potential growing military responsibility in an administration caught flat-footed in having to house waves of migrants awaiting civilian criminal proceedings.
"The Navy memo outlines plans to build 'temporary and austere' tent cities to house 25,000 migrants at abandoned airfields just outside the Florida panhandle near Mobile, Alabama, at Navy Outlying Field Wolf in Orange Beach, Alabama, and nearby Navy Outlying Field Silverhill.
"The memo also proposes a camp for as many as 47,000 people at former Naval Weapons Station Concord, near San Francisco; and another facility that could house as many as 47,000 people at Camp Pendleton, the Marines' largest training facility located along the Southern California coast. The planning memo proposes further study of housing an undetermined number of migrants at the Marine Corps Air Station near Yuma, Arizona." (Emphasis added.)

Multiply what we see in the present many times with many, many more tents because the president and his advisors and cabinet officers are determined to preserve their notion of America: white and prosperous for the few. If you believe in a multicultural America, there will be many fights ahead.

The front page of the website for the Department of Homeland Security is pretty clear about the agenda:

But remember there are many who care:

Sources

Photos
http://fox5sandiego.com/2018/06/18/photos-inside-immigrant-processing-center-show-chain-link-fences-mattresses-on-floor/amp/

YouTube video of audio provided by Jennifer Harbury
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=PoncXfYBAVI

"Why Are Parents Bringing Their Children on Treacherous Treks to the U.S. Border?"
Julie Turkewitz and Jose A. Del Real, June 22, 2018, New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/us/immigration-border-children.html

Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation
Executive Order: Immigration
June 20, 2018
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/affording-congress-opportunity-address-family-separation/?

Polls
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/separating-families-at-the-border-is-really-unpopular/

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America's new policy toward immigrants: Kids in cages, families imprisoned

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Lies are a lot like vicious mosquitoes. They're difficult to swat away, annoying at best and, at worst, occasional carriers of lethal disease. Especially difficult to repel these days when each time the Trump administration addresses our immigration policy, swarms of mistruths and misstatements fill the air, distracting us with fear and distorting our sense of reality.

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Parents are leaving their family and going to into cages. Not knowing if they will see them again or if they will see them again. People on the checkpoints or entry points will be asked for Identification Cards (ID) or Drivers License.

# data[].attributes.body
Lies are a lot like vicious mosquitoes. They’re difficult to swat away, annoying at best and, at worst, occasional carriers of lethal disease. Especially difficult to repel these days when each time the Trump administration addresses our immigration policy, swarms of mistruths and misstatements fill the air, distracting us with fear and distorting our sense of reality.

But in the last week, truth has scored a significant victory over falsehood. And we owe a debt of thanks to reporters like NBC’s Mariana Atencio and Jacob Soboroff for their continuing brave attempts to penetrate the Trump administration’s coordinated propaganda campaign and blackout to hide from us, the Red Cross and legal advocates the despicable dark side of their zero-tolerance policy.

The press’ determination to go to our southern border towns to the courts and detention centers, to travel to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala to interview would-be immigrants or those deported back to their home countries has provided not only the nation but the world with clear and compelling evidence of the disastrous consequences of the Trump administration’s calculated determination to use family separation as a tool to keep brown immigrant families from gaining sanctuary.

Likewise, we owe great thanks to civil rights attorney Jennifer Harbury for publicizing the heartbreaking audio a whistleblowing client of hers recorded inside a detention center. Millions have heard the desperate voices of children wrenched from their parents.

For those of you who had never heard of Jennifer Harbury, she knows better than most Americans the dreadful toll political and civil violence wreaks on the people of Latin America. And she, more than most, appreciates the multiple reasons these families have travelled so very far in search of asylum. Her husband, Efrain Bamaca Velasquez, a leader of the Mayan resistance in Guatemala, was tortured and murdered by their military. And she mounted a hunger strike to bring attention to his case.

Years later, she is helping to bring light to the plight of this new generation of the disappeared, the infants and children removed, sometimes under cover of darkness, to 13 different states, far from the comfort of their families.