NYT: Romanian baby, youngest child to be separated from family at Mexico border

A four-month old Romanian baby is the youngest child US authorities separated from his family at the Mexico border, New York Times reported. The separation happened under a policy meant to deter families looking to immigrate to the United States.

Constantin Mutu was separated from his parents, Vasile and Florentina, in February 2018. His father was held in federal custody in Pearsall, Texas. It took several months before Constantin’s parents could see him again. Before this, his father underwent psychiatric evaluation in a Texas detention center for immigrants because he couldn’t stop crying. The baby’s mother was hospitalized for hypertension caused by stress.

Meanwhile, Constantin grew attached to his adoptive family, and spent a largest part of his life in rural Michigan, before being sent home. Now aged one year and a half, Constantin can’t yet walk on his own and hasn’t spoken.

The baby’s parents have not yet been told while their son was taken away from them, and officials from the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment for the New York Times story.

Vasile and Florentina Mutu are members of the Roma minority. They helped their parents beg for food as children. In Romania, the Roma were enslaved for more than 500 years, New York Times noted. The publication also pointed to exclusion from schools, jobs and social services as commonplace.

The full article can be read here.

(Photo: Pixabay)