Children's toys confiscated at border

If you’ve ever spent time with a kid, you know they usually have a favorite toy ― something that calms them down, makes them feel safe or simply cheers them up when they’re bored. A stuffed dog, say, or a doll, or a little car.

Those toys may be especially meaningful for children who are separated from their parents by federal authorities at the border. They’re taken away to a foreign place and don’t know when they’ll next see their family. A small item from home would be comforting.

But they don’t get to have them. Federal agents confiscate any possessions they have.

Customs and Border Protection take away the items carried by undocumented immigrants, including children, when they cross the border. Anything considered nonessential and potentially lethal is confiscated ― including children’s shoelaces.

The migrants are supposed to receive a ticket for those items ― similar to a baggage check ― and get them back when they’re released, according to Michelle Brané, director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission. But that system doesn’t always work.


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