20 June 2018•Update: 21 June 2018
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
A planned state visit to Britain by U.S. President Donald Trump came under fire at parliament once more Wednesday after images surfaced of children kept in cages by U.S. immigration services.
The pictures of children in cages in the U.S. are “deeply disturbing,” said Prime Minister Theresa May.
May’s comments came during a weekly question session at the House of Commons, prompted by a question from Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Westminster leader Ian Blackford.
“Many of us in this House [of Commons] would be aware of deeply distressing audio and images of children separated from their parents in U.S. detention centers,” Blackford said.
“Infants as young as 18 months are being caged like animals, babies of 8 months have been left isolated in rooms,” he added.
He said a former head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said he expected hundreds of those children would never be reunited with their parents.
“Is the prime minister still intending to roll out a red carpet for Donald Trump?” Blackford asked.
“The pictures of children being held in what appeared to be cages are deeply disturbing,” May responded.
“This is wrong, this is not something we agree with, this is not the U.K.’s approach,” she said.
However, May said nothing about withdrawing the invitation she extended to Trump.
'Disappointing' response
A state visit by Trump is planned for July 13. May said she will have a chance to discuss a range of issues with him during his visit.
Calling May’s response “disappointing,” Blackford said: “We should all unreservedly be condemning the actions of Donald Trump and I ask the prime minister to do that.”
The issue of caged children, however, continued with further questions during the session.
Labour MP Gavin Shuker said: “President Trump has locked up 2,000 little children in cages and he is refusing to release them unless he is allowed to build a wall,” referring to Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“He has quit the UN Human Rights Council, praised [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un’s treatment of his own people, and turned away Muslims,” Shuker added.
“What does this man have to do to have the invitation she [May] has extended revoked?” Shuker asked.
Responding to the question, May said she had already called the treatment of children in the U.S. wrong but that “it is right to sit down with the president and discuss” many issues with him.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security separated roughly 2,000 children from undocumented adults between April 19 and May 31, sending apprehended children to detention centers or foster care, according to the department.
Footage and photographs released by the department depict people, including children, housed in large metal chain-link cages within the administration's makeshift shelters.
The Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy refers all undocumented adults for criminal prosecution, a break with past administrations who limited criminal referral for most adults who illegally cross into the U.S. with their juvenile family members.
The children, who are not charged with a crime, are separated as a result of their parents' criminal cases. As a matter of regulation, they are not allowed to be detained with their parents during legal proceedings.
Controversial invite
Long before the current outrage over separating children from their parents, the invitation to Trump had already attracted condemnation in Britain.
When first extended during May's visit to Washington last January, it sparked criticism over the new president’s controversial travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
A petition last year calling on the government to cancel the invitation was signed by over 1.85 million people, citing Trump's "well-documented misogyny and vulgarity."
Last November, Trump's re-tweeting of anti-Muslim videos originally posted by fringe far-right group Britain First, an action Theresa May labelled "wrong," triggered further calls to cancel the state visit.
