Acting CBP chief downplays video of sobbing girl whose dad was detained in raid: 'Her father committed a crime'

Mark Morgan.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CNN)

Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan wasn't moved by video of a weeping 11-year-old girl, begging for the release of her parents after they were detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Mississippi last week.

"I understand that the girl is upset and I get that," Morgan told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday. "But her father committed a crime." On Wednesday, ICE raided seven agricultural plants and arrested 680 people. During an interview with a local news station, the girl cried and pleaded with the government to let her parents go. "My dad didn't do nothing," she said. "He's not a criminal."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.