Photos of children in cages showed Trump's 2018 policy
| Photos of children in cages showed Trump's 2018 policy | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "Photographs of migrant children sleeping in fenced enclosures, widely shared in May 2018, showed the effects of the Trump administration's new family separation policy." | |
| Domain | Immigration & Migration |
| Tactic | False Context |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | May 2018 |
| Origin | Social media posts by activists and some public figures, several later deleted |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Immigration & Migration | |
In May 2018, photos of migrant children in chain-link enclosures went viral as evidence of the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy. Several of the most-shared images had been taken in 2014, during the Obama administration, at a Border Patrol processing center in Nogales, Arizona. Some people who shared them deleted their posts. The family separation policy itself was real and was documented separately.
The claim
The 2014 photos were presented as showing children separated from their parents under the 2018 policy.
What the evidence shows
- Dated photos. The images were taken by an Associated Press photographer in June 2014, during a surge of unaccompanied minors.
- Real policy. The zero-tolerance policy announced in April 2018 led to the separation of thousands of children from their parents, as later confirmed by government inspectors.
- Both sides. Supporters of the administration pointed to the misdated photos to dismiss criticism; critics pointed to the policy. Both the photos and the policy need accurate dating.
Why it matters
Using an old image for a new story damages credibility even when the underlying issue is real.
Sources
- Associated Press, photographs from the Nogales Placement Center by Ross D. Franklin, June 2014.
- US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Separated Children Placed in Office of Refugee Resettlement Care, January 2019.