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Ivanka Trump photo with son sparks backlash over border separations
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Ivanka Trump is facing an online
backlash for tweeting a “tone deaf” photo of herself cuddling her son as
outrage grows over a federal government policy to separate the children of
undocumented migrants from their parents.
The eldest daughter of President Donald Trump, who serves as an advisor to
her father, posted the picture of her with her infant son on Sunday, with the
caption: “My <3! #SundayMorning.”
Critics were quick to point to a “zero tolerance” policy announced earlier
this month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that authorizes border security
agents to take away the children of people who enter the United States
unlawfully.
The government places such children in foster homes, but Steven Wagner, a
senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services told a
Congressional committee last month the government was “unable to determine
with certainty the whereabouts of 1,475” minors after attempting to contact
their sponsors in the last three months of 2017.
“Isn’t it the just the best to snuggle your little one — knowing exactly
where they are, safe in your arms? It’s the best. The BEST. Right, Ivanka?
Right?” tweeted comedian Patton Oswalt.
“If there were a Tone-Deaf Olympics, you would be its Michael Phelps,”
added John Pavlovitz, a writer.
Many others tweeted using the #WhereAreTheChildren hashtag.
Donald Trump, for his part, blamed opposition Democrats for the “horrible
law” in a tweet on Saturday — though there is no law mandating the policy
and it was not immediately clear what he may have meant.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1700 hrs