Tender Age Shelters: Separating and Warehousing Infants and Toddlers
While the Zero Tolerance policy is documented elsewhere, the specific treatment of children under 5 — the 'tender age' population — constituted a distinct category of harm. Infants as young as a few months old were taken from parents and placed in facilities where they were cared for by strangers. Whistleblowers described children crying inconsolably. The American Academy of Pediatrics called the policy 'child abuse.' A federal court gave the government 30 days to reunify this group; the administration missed the deadline.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 5 of 5: War Crime / Crime Against Humanity
Conduct that satisfies the legal elements of a war crime under the Rome Statute (Article 8), a crime against humanity (Article 7), or genocide (Article 6). Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- Southwest Key tender age shelters; nationwide HHS/ORR facilities
- Category
- Deportation to Torture
- Legal posture
- Judicial finding
- War-crime classification
- Confirmed
- Verification
- Independently verified
- ICC relevance
- Yes
- Sources
- 4 cited
- Stable ID
trump-children-separation-tender-age- Victims
- Children under 5 forcibly separated from their parents under Zero Tolerance, including infants; parents separated from their young children, unable to communicate their whereabouts
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, President of the United States— White House
- Jeff Sessions, Attorney General; announced Zero Tolerance— Department of Justice
- Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security; said she was 'not aware' of tender age shelters— DHS
Key points
- The AP exclusively reported on 'tender age' shelters in Texas in June 2018 — facilities holding young migrant children ages newborn through 5 who had been separated from their parents under Zero Tolerance
- ProPublica published audio recording of children at a CBP holding facility crying and asking for their parents; the audio, obtained from inside the facility, included a Salvadoran child crying 'Papá! Papá!' repeatedly
- DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen initially said at a press briefing she was 'not aware' of tender age shelters — a claim the AP reporting directly contradicted
- The American Academy of Pediatrics called the policy 'child abuse' and warned of lasting developmental, psychological, and neurological harm from early childhood parent separation
- A federal court gave the administration 30 days to reunify children under 5 with their parents; as of the deadline, 103 children under 5 had not been reunified — the government attributed some to parental criminal records or parental deportation, categories the court did not exempt
- Several children separated as infants or toddlers experienced years of separation; the Biden administration continued searching for parents years later
Overview
The Zero Tolerance family separation policy is documented separately. This entry addresses a specific and especially grave dimension of that policy: the separation of infants and young toddlers from their parents — children for whom separation from a primary caregiver at a critical developmental stage causes the most severe and lasting harm.
The administration did not exempt young children from the separation policy. There was no minimum age. Infants as young as a few months old were taken from their mothers or fathers and placed in facilities staffed by strangers.
The Tender Age Shelters
The Associated Press reported on June 18, 2018 — the same week Trump signed the executive order purportedly ending separations — that facilities in South Texas were holding babies and young children who had been separated from their parents. The shelters were not equipped or designed for infant care in the way a family or foster home would be. Staff described children who could not be comforted, who cried constantly, who could not understand where their parents were.
The ProPublica audio, released the same week, put sound to the images: migrant children at CBP facilities sobbing for their parents. A Salvadoran child crying "Papá" again and again. The audio became the most-shared piece of media coverage of the Zero Tolerance crisis.
The Medical Warning
The American Academy of Pediatrics — the nation's leading authority on children's health — was categorical. The policy was child abuse. Parent-child separation in early childhood disrupts the neurological and psychological development of children in ways that research shows are lasting. The earlier the separation and the longer its duration, the more severe the damage.
The administration continued the policy after receiving the AAP's warning. It was not an inadvertent harm — it was a foreseeable harm the administration chose to inflict.
International law engaged
| Instrument | Provision | What it protects or prohibits |
|---|---|---|
| Convention on the Rights of the Child | Articles 3, 7, 8, 9 | Best interests of the child as primary consideration; right to family unity; deliberate separation of infants from parents as a deterrent policy is not in any child's best interests and violates the CRC |
| Convention Against Torture | Article 16 | Forcible separation of infants from their parents constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment for both the child and the parent |
| Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court | Article 7(1)(d) | Forcible transfer of population as a crime against humanity — the systematic separation and transfer of children from their families meets the definition when conducted as part of a widespread state policy |
Update log
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Updated with post-deadline reunification status.
Sequence of events
-
Zero Tolerance announced
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces Zero Tolerance — directing CBP to refer all illegal border crossers for criminal prosecution, which automatically triggers family separation because children cannot be held in adult detention facilities.
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AP reports on tender age shelters
The Associated Press exclusively reports on 'tender age' shelters in South Texas holding babies and young children under 5 who have been separated from their parents. Staff at the facilities describe children who cannot be comforted and who cry for their parents constantly.
-
ProPublica audio published
ProPublica publishes audio from inside a CBP holding facility of migrant children crying for their parents. The audio, including a Salvadoran child crying 'Papá' repeatedly, becomes one of the defining documents of the Zero Tolerance crisis.
-
Nielsen: 'not aware' of tender age shelters
At a press briefing, DHS Secretary Nielsen says she is 'not aware' of tender age shelters — a statement immediately contradicted by the AP reporting and widely called false. Nielsen also says 'we don't have a policy of separating families at the border' — a claim contradicted by the Zero Tolerance announcement.
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Trump signs order ostensibly ending separation
Under intense political pressure, Trump signs an executive order purporting to end family separation. The order does not address tender age children already separated.
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Court deadline: 103 children under 5 not yet reunified
The court's 30-day deadline for reunifying children under 5 passes. The government reports it has reunified 57 of the 103 children in the under-5 group identified by the government, but disputes whether all 103 meet the court's criteria for reunification — a dispute the court largely rejects.
Sources
- AP Exclusive: US held migrant kids in 'tender age' shelters — The Associated Press
- U.S. Is Holding Migrant Babies in 'Tender Age' Shelters — The New York Times
- AAP Calls Family Separation 'Child Abuse' — American Academy of Pediatrics archived ✓
- Listen to Children Who've Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border — ProPublica