First lady visits migrant kids at facility
Support for separated purpose of Texas trip
MCALLEN, Texas — Melania Trump visited with migrant children Thursday during a brief stop at a Texas facility housing some of the youths separated from their parents as her husband’s administration prosecutes adults who enter the United States illegally from Mexico.
The first lady, who has a 12-yearold son, smiled and laughed with the migrant children. “Be kind and nice to each other, OK,” she said as she left one classroom at Upbring New Hope Children’s Center and headed for another.
Plans for her to visit a second facility were canceled because of flooding.
The first lady’s stop in Mcallen came one day after President Donald Trump ordered a halt to the separation of immigrant families who are detained at the border.
Her visit to the one-story, redbrick building was quickly arranged after she decided earlier this week that she wanted to go, her spokeswoman said, adding that the first lady wanted to lend support to children who have been separated from their parents.
The facility housed 55 boys and girls, ages 12-17, on Thursday, but only about six of them had been separated from parents, officials said. The other children were placed there after they crossed into the U.S. alone.
Students welcomed her with a large paper American flag taped to a wall that they had signed. The words, “Welcome! First Lady” were written in black marker across the red and white bars. The first lady, herself an immigrant from Slovenia, signed the flag and gifted it back to the center.