ProPublica releases audio of crying separated children

ProPublica published devastating audio from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facility capturing children sobbing and screaming for their parents after being separated. The audio included a 6-year-old Salvadoran girl begging to call her aunt, saying 'My mommy says that I'll go with my aunt and that she'll come to pick me up there as quickly as possible.' A Border Patrol agent could be heard joking 'Well, we have an orchestra here. What's missing is a conductor.' The recording made visceral and real what had been an abstract policy debate. It became a turning point in public consciousness, sparking massive outcry across the political spectrum. Even Laura Bush wrote an op-ed calling the policy 'cruel' and 'immoral.' The audio was played at White House press briefings, forcing officials to defend the indefensible sounds of traumatized children.

"My mommy says that I'll go with my aunt and that she'll come to pick me up there as quickly as possible." — 6-year-old Salvadoran girl's plea in ProPublica audio recording from detention facility