Pro Publica’s Audio of Children Separated from Parents at Border

Pro Publica has published this audio recording of children separated from their parents at the border. It’s a hard listen. I can only just imagine playing the entire 7:47 in class and just having students absorb it.

As Pro Publica explains, the recording was made last week. It’s of kids estimated to be between 4 and 10 who had been detained less than 24 hours, “so their distress at having been separated from their parents was still raw. Consulate officials tried to comfort them with snacks and toys. But the children were inconsolable.”

The provenance of the recording is secret. An unidentified individual “devastated” by the scene recorded the sounds, gave the audio to civil rights attorney Jennifer Harbury, who in turn provided it to ProPublica.

-KitJ