More than 250,000 people have signed a petition urging the immediate shutdown of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas after reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions. One of the signatories, Rachel Griffin Accurso, known to children and parents across the world as Ms. Rachel, sat down with MS NOW’s Antonia Hylton on Monday to share why conversations with detainees inside the facility have left her in “shock.”
“It’s heartbreaking talking to the kids and their families,” Accurso told Hylton. “They’re talking about water that they can’t even drink that makes them sick. There’s been worms in the food brought in sometimes, and what really frightens me is the dangerously inadequate medical care.”
The educator and children’s entertainer, who boasts more than 19.5 million subscribers on YouTube, said she believes most Americans don’t “really know what’s going on” inside of facilities like Dilley, and if they did know, they would agree and “unite over not wanting to harm children.”
“These are basic human rights for children, and we can all agree not to harm and abuse children,” she said. “It’s not who we want to be.”
Accurso highlighted the stories of some of the detainees she spoke to inside Dilley, including Olivia, who came to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The YouTube star described the teenager as “incredible.”
“She’s from Maine, close to where I grew up, and right when I got on, she said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know I was going to be talking to a neighbor,’ and we just connected right away,” Accurso said of her conversation with Olivia. “She’s who we want in Maine, and she’s just a wonderful person.”
For one portion of the interview, Accurso was joined by Deiver Henao Jimenez, who was released from Dilley late last month. The 9-year-old and his family were granted humanitarian parole after his video call with Accurso went viral, during which he pleaded to be released to attend his state spelling bee.
“Deiver is the reason why I’m here tonight,” she said. “He inspired me and connecting with him changed everything, and he’s so brave.”
Accurso said that during the video call, Deiver looked “traumatized,” but now the 9-year-old is “thriving.”
“There’s a joy and a lightness and a happiness that he didn’t have at Dilley,” she said. “And I’m so relieved that he’s home where he belongs.”
You can watch Accurso’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
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