Honduran girl on Time cover not separated from her mother, claims father
Trump on Time cover
According to Reuters, Honduran deputy foreign minister Nelly Jerez confirmed Valera's version of events.
The controversy over the latest Time cover with the words "welcome to America" due to hit the stands soon with a towering President Trump looking down upon a sobbing Honduran toddler has hit the headlines after a man who claimed to be the girl's father said the baby wasn't separated from her mother.
President Trump's administration had declared "zero tolerance" towards illegal immigrants with the president declaring earlier that all those caught at the border illegally entering the US border to be tried in on criminal charges, the move created a firestorm of protests across the US and was widely condemned by world leaders.
The Time cover which purported to show the girl in agony with Trump looking down on her with smug contempt stirred everyone's emotion as the international media began circulating it on the Internet. However, in a twist, the man, Denis Valera, who claimed to be the father of the child told Reuters: "My daughter has become a symbol of the ... separation of children at the US border. She may have even touched President Trump's heart."
Valera said the little girl and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, have been detained together in the Texas border town of McAllen, where Sanchez has applied for asylum, and they were not separated after being detained near the border, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, Honduran deputy foreign minister Nelly Jerez confirmed Valera's version of events.
"Seeing what was happening to her at that moment breaks anyone's heart," Valera added.
Trump's "zero tolerance" policy has led to the separation of at least 2,342 children from their parents at the US-Mexico border since last month. The video footage of wailing children separated from their parents, being kept in cages led to widespread protests with Republicans disagreeing with the US president's policy.
Sandra and her daughter had left Puerto Cortes without telling Valera or the couple's three other children, the father said.
"If they are deported, that is OK as long as they do not leave the child without her mother," Valera said. "I am waiting to see what happens with them."