'History Is Repeating Itself'

The deaths of migrant children haunt a former border official as surge restarts [Border in 2019]( Agustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images Spotlight: Children At The Border Seeing the growing number of minors held in [jail-like facilities]( near the U.S.-Mexico border, John Sanders can't help thinking of Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez. The 16-year-old boy from Guatemala died in the care of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the last record-breaking detention of unaccompanied minors during the Trump administration, when Sanders led the agency. The former acting CBP commissioner spoke exclusively to NPR about that experience and his concerns about the current crisis. "My greatest fear and the hardest thing for me when I was at CBP was the death of children," said Sanders, his voice breaking with emotion. "My greatest fear is children will die, and that's what I think we have to make sure never happens." At least five children died in custody or after being detained by federal immigration agents at the border during that surge in 2018 and 2019, when as many as 2,600 children were being held in border facilities. The U.S. government had [more than 4,200 unaccompanied migrant children]( in its custody as of Sunday, according to a Department of Homeland Security document obtained by NPR. The children are spending [an average of 117 hours in detention facilities]( before being moved to more hospitable shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services — far longer than the 72 hours allowed by law. Sanders said kids who arrive at the border facilities are already physically and emotionally strained after weeks — if not months — of traveling under very difficult conditions. "What is heartbreaking to me is that history is repeating itself," Sanders said. "And there is no surprise to people that this was going to occur. I'm not making a political statement there. It's just I think we as a country have to figure out and have some tough conversations, so this doesn't keep happening again and again. Because it's the children who suffer at the end of the day." — Franco Ordoñez, NPR White House correspondent [Read | Listen]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [The moment]( Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images The Moment You Knew The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, but the reality of what was to come hit us all at different times, in different ways. Thank you to those of you who shared the moments when you realized life was going to change. Here are some of your stories: Doreen: "Early April 2020 on a sunny day I took a walk for some air on Market Street in Rhinebeck. All the stores & restaurants closed. No one on the street. Just me and the pansies and tulips in window boxes and pots. Spring came but no one noticed." Mary: "My moment came when I came home from work as a caregiver for people with serious illnesses and my son said, 'You have to quit working.' I was 68 at the time had knees that were failing and was trying to add to my retirement with a very hard physical job. Did I mention that I have rods in my back and have had to have total knee surgery. My son believed that my continuing to go to work would endanger me, endanger him, and endanger the ones I worked with. It is a year later and I have not had an extra penny outside my retirement. It was the moment when I went from a vital woman to an old woman." Elizabeth: "My mother died on March 7, 2020, and we were told we'd have to 'postpone' her funeral. We still have not had it." [You can read more from NPR's audience here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprpolitics@npr.org](mailto:nprpolitics@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Politics emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]