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U.N. calls on U.S. to find alternatives to detaining child migrants

by Reuters
Friday, 22 June 2018 12:20 GMT

Immigrant children housed in a tent encampment are shown walking in single file at the facility near the Mexican border in Tornillo, Texas, U.S. June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake

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GENEVA, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights office called on the Trump administration on Friday to overhaul its migration polices and find alternatives to detention, saying children should never be held in custody, even with their parents.

The United States has faced fierce criticism for separating more than 2,300 children from their families in order to prosecute their parents for crossing the border illegally.

U.S. President Donald Trump backed down on Wednesday, signing an executive order to keep families together in detention during immigration proceedings.

"While we acknowledge the U.S. government's decision not to continue separating children from their parents, we understand that the practice now will be to detain the children with their parents," U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva briefing.

"We have said time and again the children should never be detained in relation to their or their parents' migration status. It is never in the best interests of the child for them to be detained," she added.

Video footage of children sitting in cages and an audiotape of wailing children sparked worldwide anger.

The United States must revamp its migration policies and provide community-based solutions and other alternatives to detention, which uphold migrants' rights, Shamdasani said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Alison Williams and Jon Boyle)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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