--- title: Advocates Worry About Girls Held by Family Separation Policy description: Migrant rights groups are concerned about the risks that girls and young women face in detention due to the family separation policy. canonical: https://time.com/5316116/family-separation-policy-girls/ author: Abby Vesoulis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-19T17:26:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:31:25.065Z article:section: Politics og:title: Advocates Worry About Girls Held Due to Family Separation Policy og:description: "They're fleeing pretty horrific circumstances." og:url: https://time.com/5316116/family-separation-policy-girls/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2bac688b446c887/698933464ee26284d13121e1/border-patrol-processing-center-mcallen-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4200 og:image:height: 2363 og:image:alt: Immigration Holding Facility, McAllen og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Advocates Worry About Girls Held Due to Family Separation Policy twitter:description: "They're fleeing pretty horrific circumstances." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2bac688b446c887/698933464ee26284d13121e1/border-patrol-processing-center-mcallen-texas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Advocates Worry About Girls Held Due to Family Separation Policy > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2275add9-9f75-41a9-ba2e-5fa2d20e2d58&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown [Watch (HLS stream): Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mdVWChjR.m3u8) (3:26)  _Published 2018-06-18. Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May, as the Trump Administration cracked down on illegal immigration with a “zero-tolerance” policy of separating families at the border_  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 19, 2018 5:26 PM UTC  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 19, 2018 5:26 PM UTC The Trump Administration has released photos of young boys being held at detention centers for undocumented immigrants, but so far it has not released any images of young girls. That discrepancy has led to Administration critics to start a Twitter hashtag [#wherearethegirls](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WhereAreTheGirls&src=tyah). Pressed on the question at [a White House briefing Monday](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-department-homeland-security-secretary-kirstjen-nielsen-061818/), Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that children are being cared for in the same way but that she would have to “look into” why no photos have been released. Migrant rights groups say they are concerned about the risks that girls and young women face in detention, noting issues such as pregnancy, sexual assault, menstruation and psychological trauma from assault and rape they faced in their home countries. “They’re fleeing pretty horrific circumstances,” said Michelle Brané, the director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “I’ve heard women and young girls tell me about being taken and locked in basements and gang-raped for two weeks at a time until they escape.” [The Office of Refugee Resettlement](https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr) has historically provided temporary shelter and immediate medical attention for unaccompanied minors who cross the border. Children would then typically be released to the care of family members, or long-term foster care when necessary — 90% of them would have made this move within a month of their arrival, according to Kids in Need of Defense, a group that protects unaccompanied children who enter the immigration system alone. But migrants rights groups worry that the office is being overwhelmed by the Trump Administration’s [new “zero tolerance” policy](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/) of referring everyone apprehended crossing the border for criminal prosecution, which has led to more than 2,000 children being separated from parents who are awaiting trial. The Office of Refugee Resettlement’s policy is to [immediately screen](https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/resource/children-entering-the-united-states-unaccompanied-section-3#3.4) girls for histories of sexual trafficking, pregnancy and mental health issues, among other things. Additionally, at-risk girls are supposed to be accommodated with private rooms to undress or use the restroom, when requested. But advocates say it’s not even clear that feminine hygiene products are readily available. “We’re told that if they’ve asked for sanitary napkins, they would get them — but they would have to ask for them, Brané said. “They aren’t just sitting out there.” Before Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement of the policy change, unaccompanied minors who had particularly harrowing experiences in their home countries would be placed in specialized facilities where their unique needs could be met, but now, it’s unlikely border control personnel have time to adequately screen all the children for these warning signs, said Megan McKenna, Kids in Need of Defense’s senior director of communications. It’s not easy for these girls to open up to authority figures, according to McKenna. “Sexual violence is used as a tool in many parts of Central America where the gangs control communities,” she said. “The conditions would certainly not be conducive to have a child talk about what their needs are,” McKenna continued. “Just the sure fact of being separated from a parent would also make the child less likely to be able to share any of these experiences with anybody, since they are already dealing with the trauma of being separated from a parent and not having the support of that parent.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — the government agency responsible for overseeing the child detention centers — did not return requests for comment on how the needs of girls are being met, citing a backlog of hundreds of media requests. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] I have put in place a zero tolerance policy for illegal entry on our southwest border. If you cross the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you. And that child may be separated from you [ MUSIC ] The zero tolerance policy is intended to deter people from breaking the law, Adults Adults, if they are accompanied by a child, that child is temporarily separated from them as they go through a judicial process. And that is no different from a United States citizen parent. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] They call it the zero Tolerance. But a better name for it is zero humanity and there's zero logic to this policy. [ MUSIC ] The democrats gave us the laws, now I want the laws to be beautiful. But strong. I don't want bad people coming in. I don't want drugs coming in. And we can solve that problem in one meeting. Tell the democrats, your friends, to call me. [ MUSIC ] We should not be using kids as a deterrent policy. This is something, I think, is actually unacceptable. And it's something that, as Americans, we shouldn't be doing. He's gotta step in there and he's gotta end this thing. I think it's an atrocious policy. It's inhumane, it's offensive to the average American. [ MUSIC ] We do not have the luxury of pretending that all individuals coming to this country as a family unit Are, in fact, a family. We have to do our job. We will not apologize for doing our job. We have sworn to do this job. 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