MSNBC Guest on Trump’s Immigration Policies: ‘A Crisis of America’s Own Invention’

MSNBC guest Alicia Menendez delivered an emotional denunciation of President Donald Trump’s policy of separating immigrant kids from their families on Friday, clearly rebutting his lie that Democrats are to blame for the practice.

“Did you read the story about the 5-year-old boy from Honduras who brought notes… pictures of his family,” she said to the panel on Nicolle Wallace’s show “Deadline: White House.”

She continued, her voice cracking with emotion: “He is now sleeping with them under his pillow at night as he cries himself to sleep in one of these detention facilities. That’s where we are because of this policy.”

“I think it’s just so important that we remember that this does not require legislation to be fixed. This could be handled by DHS by reversing this policy. and it is a crisis of America’s own invention. it is taxing a system that was never meant to handle this type of overflow of children.”

She also pointed to a picture of a 2-year-old in custody, who she noted was “raised in Honduras, probably doesn’t speak English, has very minimal language skills. How do you explain to her what is happening? And also remember that the reason these migrants are coming is because they are seeking asylum in the United States because something that is happening in their home country is so bad, so dangerous they have risked this journey to the United States in order to find freedom and safety. Instead what we are doing is taking these children away from their parents.”

Wallace, too, seemed stunned by the situation. “Are we still America, when you see these pictures?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of ugly stuff happening in America,” said contributor John Heilemann. “So we are not the best of America when we see these pictures. we are not the America we all want us to be.”

Watch the clip below:

“He is now sleeping with them under his pillow at night as he cries himself to sleep in one of these detention facilities.” – @AliciaMenendez pic.twitter.com/7pzITy3DzZ

— AlterNet (@AlterNet) June 15, 2018

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