We Created Border Orphanages

The United States ended orphanages in the 1960s. We did so because there is no such thing as a "good" orphanage. Children are not to be institutionalized. It is established science that children are best cared for by families, whether their own, adopted or in foster care. It is stunning that the "Make America Great Again" siren call is creating orphanages on our southern border, a crime against humanity, perpetrated for misguided political purposes.

Two separate United Nations delegations recently visited the United States to observe our treatment of children at the border. These very visits are a heartbreaking twist on how our country, which once set the gold standard for human rights, is now being investigated for violations. It is highly unusual for a country that demands others meet international obligations fails to live up to that very standard, noted Georgette Gagnon, director of field operations for the U.N. Human Rights Office. But here we are, living in a time when the United States, acting like Romania’s Ceausescu, has denied at least 10 requests from the United Nations to observe how children are treated behind closed doors.