DOJ Lawyer Defends Herself After Viral Testimony on Child Migrant Treatment
‘STRUCK A NERVE’
A Justice Department lawyer has defended herself after she was roundly criticized for saying that migrant children detained by the Trump administration don’t need soap, toothbrushes, or blankets. A video of Sarah Fabian’s testimony last week before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals went viral after she argued the legal requirement that the government provide “safe and sanitary” conditions for detained children didn’t necessarily require very basic hygiene products. In a message to her friends on Facebook, Fabian said the U.S. “should do our very best to care for kids” while in custody, and said she shares “many people’s anger and fear” about the nation’s future. NBC News reports she expressed regret that her comments “struck a nerve,” but added: “Many people believe I was in court Tuesday arguing against providing certain hygiene items to kids... I do not believe that’s the position I was representing.”