Official who oversaw migrant kids: Separation causes trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) - A government health official who oversaw the care of migrant children says he never would have supported a policy that resulted in the separation of children from their parents.

Jonathan White testified Thursday before a House oversight subcommittee. He says he advised U.S. Health and Human Services leaders that doing so would cause lasting, serious psychological trauma.

The committee is looking into the “zero tolerance” policy last summer that resulted in the separation of more than 2,700 children.

White said he attended briefings on the possibility of separating children in 2017, but was told there was no policy in place. He said he learned of the zero tolerance policy that would result in the separations from a news conference given by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April 2018.

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