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June 4, 2018

Sen. Merkley Barred from Entering Detention Center for Immigrant Children
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In Texas, Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley was barred from
entering a detention center for immigrant children in Brownsville on
Sunday, after traveling to the center-housed inside an old Walmart-to
see firsthand the Trump administration's practice of separating
immigrant children from their parents. He tweeted, "I was barred entry.
Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor-he finally came out and said
he can't tell us anything. Police were called on us. Children should
never be ripped from their families & held in secretive detention
centers." Federal authorities reportedly separated at least 600
immigrant children from their parents last month, sparking widespread
outrage and international condemnation. Meanwhile, in more immigration
news, Houston authorities say there was a 16 percent drop in reports of
domestic violence from the Latino community last year. Community
advocates are concerned women are not reporting domestic violence out of
fear of deportation.