The Hoax

Trump Put Migrant Children In Cages

The “Trump Put Kids in Cages” controversy refers to the widespread claim that the Trump administration’s immigration policies led to children being detained in cages at the U.S.-Mexico border. This claim became a significant point of contention in political and public discourse, particularly during the 2018 and 2020 election cycles. The claim originated from images and reports that surfaced in 2018, showing children in chain-link enclosures at detention facilities. These images were widely shared on social media and used in news reports to criticize the Trump administration’s handling of family separations and immigration enforcement.

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What Really Happened

Obama Built And Put Kids In Cages First

The controversial practice of detaining children in chain-link enclosures, often referred to as “cages,” actually began under the Obama administration, not the Trump administration as commonly believed. In response to a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border around 2014, the Obama administration set up these facilities as a temporary measure to manage the influx. These enclosures were part of processing centers where children were held separately from unrelated adults, in compliance with the Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandates that minors should not be detained for more than 20 days and should be housed in the least restrictive setting possible. The images that later circulated widely, which showed children in these conditions, were often misattributed solely to the Trump administration.

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Hoaxology | How The Hoax Was Made

Here’s how this hoax was made.

Selective Photo Frame / Selective Video Editing

Selective video editing played a key role in amplifying the claim that Trump “put kids in cages” by removing essential context about the origin and policy continuity of the detention facilities. When images or videos of children in chain-link enclosures were shared, they often omitted the fact that these facilities were first established during the Obama administration in response to a similar influx of migrants. The selective use of this footage, without acknowledging that the practice began earlier, created the impression that this was a new and uniquely Trump-driven policy.

Selective Reporting

Selective reporting was used to advance the “Trump put kids in cages” narrative by focusing exclusively on the images and conditions of child detention during Trump’s administration, while omitting or minimizing the fact that similar practices were established under the Obama administration. Media outlets and individuals highlighted only the negative aspects of Trump’s immigration policies without acknowledging that the use of chain-link enclosures began earlier and was part of a broader, ongoing issue. This selective approach created a skewed narrative, unfairly attributing the practice solely to Trump and disregarding the historical context that could have challenged the narrative.

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