Media fight access restrictions on child detention centers

Published 8:49 am Wednesday, June 27, 2018

NEW YORK — The children at the center of the national debate over President Donald Trump’s immigration policy have been heard about but rarely seen.

News organizations say they are pushing back every day against Trump administration restrictions on access to facilities where children separated from their parents are being held. Government handouts satisfy few, and there have been disputes raised in some of the few independent instances where a sense emerges of what is happening at the border.

New video emerged late Monday on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC program allegedly showing young children at a government facility in New York City. Maddow said it was taken and smuggled out by an employee who has since quit and wishes to remain anonymous.

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“It’s not enough for the government to provide curated images,” said Noah Oppenheim, NBC News president. “The public expects and demands and has the right to see a verified picture of what is going on inside these detention centers and how this policy is being carried out in their name.”