Separating children from parents at the U.S. border and holding them in temporary detention centers is child abuse, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics said.
"This does amount to child abuse. These children have been traumatized in their trip up to the border, and the first thing that happens is we take away the one constant in their life that helps them buffer all of these horrible experiences. That's child abuse," Colleen Kraft told CNN.
The separation leads to "toxic stress," said Kraft.
"What this does to these children is it produces a condition called toxic stress, which is an element of called toxic stress, which is an elevation of your fight and flight hormones, that normally keep you out of danger.
"But in this situation, they remain high and it inhibits the development of their brains. It disrupts their brain architecture and keeps them from developing language and social, emotional bonds, and gross motor skills, and the development they could possibly have," Kraft added.
"These children need their parents. . . You can be given food, and water, and shelter, and still have your disruption of your brain architecture because of toxic stress," said Kraft.
Parents are not guaranteed that they will be reunited with their children until deportation, according to Axios.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.