According to the primary source, “Keeping Migrant Kids in Detention Centers and Shelters Can Damage Them”, by Ruben Castaneda, research says, children that are held in detention facilities are more prone to develop chronic conditions, such as, heart disease, obesity, depression, substance misuse, and cancer, according to Dr. Colleen A. Kraft (2018).
When a group of Physicians were walking through a detention center, they found a 3 year old girl, who was alone and crying in a courtyard. Often, when kids are misbehaving they are removed from common areas and separated from others until they can behave again. Children have no one to care for them in these facilities, being that the guards can not comfort them.
According to these physicians, no care for these children will hinder brain development and lead to lifelong health consequences (2018). These centers lack interaction and care, when a child is upset, they rely on an adult to be their caregiver and respond in a warm way, but children are neglected in these facilities. These physicians say, “interaction is important in facilitating language and cognitive development” (2018).
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When a child is not given the attention and attentiveness that they require, they notice the neglect and that can have negative impacts on their cognitive development and both social and emotional development. President Trump’s Zero-Tolerance Policy is putting stress on these children, by separating them from their caregivers and by placing them in unfamiliar environments.
According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, “There is a toxic stress response that occurs when a child experiences strong, frequent and/or prolonged adversity, such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship without adequate adult support” (2018). In addition, this article says, “when humans feel threatened, their bodies release the stress hormones adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol.
The release of these chemicals causes your muscles to contract, speeds up your heart and breath and boosts your blood pressure” (2018). Children release these hormones when they experience feelings of discomfort, anxiety, hunger, or scaredness. Again, parents help their children cope, but because a caregiver is absent in these centers, it hindes children’s brains and can cause harm to a child’s ability to learn, speak, understand language and develop properly (2018).
Therefore, children may have difficulties in school and further development in the future. Children are at high risk of harm in these detention facilities and these facilities are a result of emotional and physiological damage to a child.
