--- title: Melania: Kids in Detention Are 'Result of Adult Actions' description: First Lady Melania Trump said that her visit reminded her that detained children were there “as a direct result of adult actions.” canonical: https://time.com/5319429/melania-trump-statement-child-detention-center/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-22T01:02:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:31:49.226Z article:section: Politics og:title: Melania: Kids in Detention Are 'Result of Adult Actions' og:description: Her trip came one day after the President reversed course on family separation og:url: https://time.com/5319429/melania-trump-statement-child-detention-center/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2dd4e16fd7795df/698933a686f68ecae96e97a5/melania-trump-immigrant-detention-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3670 og:image:height: 2064 og:image:alt: First Lady Melania Trump Visits Immigrant Detention Center On U.S. Border og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melania: Kids in Detention Are 'Result of Adult Actions' twitter:description: Her trip came one day after the President reversed course on family separation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2dd4e16fd7795df/698933a686f68ecae96e97a5/melania-trump-immigrant-detention-center.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Melania Trump Says Children in Detention Center Are There 'As a Direct Result of Adult Actions' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8e59b648-385e-46e6-a8a1-5877c80c456c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: First Lady Melania Trump Makes Surprise Visit to Child Detention Center in Texas [Watch (HLS stream): First Lady Melania Trump Makes Surprise Visit to Child Detention Center in Texas](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JT4q3wvT.m3u8) (1:07)  _Published 2018-06-21. First Lady Melania Trump paid an unannounced visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, one day after President Trump signed an Executive Order to keep families together amid an outcry over his Administration’s policy that was tearing them apart._ by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jun 22, 2018 1:02 AM UTC by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jun 22, 2018 1:02 AM UTC First Lady Melania Trump said that her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday reminded her that the detained children she visited were there “as a direct result of adult actions.” It was not immediately clear whether the First Lady was referring to the children’s parents or U.S. government officials when she said their situation was caused by “adult actions,” but her comments echoed those of President Donald Trump, who has [falsely blamed Democratic members of Congress](http://time.com/5314957/family-separation-policy-trump-rhetoric/) for his administration’s policy [separating parents and children](http://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/) apprehended at the border. During her [unannounced visit to the border](http://time.com/5318542/first-lady-melania-trump-visit-child-detention-center/), the First Lady had planned to stop at two facilities in McAllen Texas: a border patrol center that processes migrant families and a detention center for children who have arrived from Central America. Severe weather prevented her from visiting the families at the border patrol center, but she toured the Upbringing New Hope children’s center and participated in a roundtable discussion where she asked questions about how children were cared for in the facility. “I was very impressed with the center and the hardworking staff and leadership there – and thank them for all of their hard work. The children were eager to learn and were kind and in good spirits,” the First Lady said in a statement after she returned to Washington, D.C. on Thursday. “Spending time with them reinforces the fact that these kids are in this situation as a direct result of adult actions. It is my hope that Members of Congress will finally reach across the aisle and work together to solve this problem with common sense immigration reform that secures our borders and keeps families together.” The First Lady’s visit came one day after her husband [signed an Executive Order](http://time.com/5317367/trump-executive-order-immigration/) to keep immigrant families together while they are detained following intense pressure over his administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. The First Lady[ sparked controversy](http://time.com/5319414/melania-trump-jacket-texas-immigration/) by wearing a jacket on her way to Texas that said “I really don’t care. Do U?” ## Transcript Let me begin to recognize each of you and thanking you for all what you do, for your heroic work that you do every day and what you do for those children. We all know they're having, they're here without their families. And I want to thank you for your hard work, your compassion and your kindness you're giving them in this difficult times. I'm here to learn about your facility and to which I know you housed children on a long term basis. And I also Like to ask you how I can help to these children, to reunite with your families as quickly as possible. So thank you again for all that you do, and thank you as well. Thank you. For what you do, thank you very much. 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