MCALLEN, TX -- The unannounced visit by the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump to the Texas-Mexico border had local leaders hoping she would’ve stayed longer to get a better understanding of the region.
The first lady and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made a quick, two-hour stop at New Hope, a long-term shelter for immigrant teens.
“I’d like to ask you how I can help so these children can reunite with their families as quickly as possible,” Mrs. Trump said.
New Hope is a shelter currently housing 55 boys and girls ages 12 through 17, six of whom have been separated from their parents, with an average reunification rate of 45 days.
After a few minutes touring the facility and talking to the children, the first lady left.
The Chavez family watched in awe from across the street as the first lady drove by. They were happy to know she visited immigrant children who are alone.
McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, who praised the first lady’s visit, said that the separation of families was a bad practice and wished Mrs. Trump would’ve spent some time also talking to immigrant parents.
“When you talk to the people at the respite center and you talk to some of these kids, especially why they left their country, it’s pretty moving,” he said.
If there’s something he hopes all the officials, politicians, and outside media take with them, it’s that “the community has a heart.”
“We ought to practice the golden rule more in Washington, so that’s what we practice here,” Mayor Darling said.
The mayor noted that the first lady had to skip a visit to the Border Patrol detention center, the warehouse-type facility where undocumented immigrants are placed in what many refer to as chain-link “cages,” due to a tropical storm that flooded the area.