Abuse is almost certainly occurs in the presence of power structures with severe disparity. Children are being placed in the custody of people who lack appropriate training, background checks and supervision. Children can not defend themselves and they are separated from the people who do protect them: their parents. These are sufficient conditions for children to be mistreated; I can't bear to think of what happens when the people who run these systems choose to be actively malicious. These conditions are not only present in these "detention centers" (a thinly disguised euphemism for prisons), but also in places like poorly run orphanages and even some religious institutions, to name a few.
I am disgusted by the lack of empathy when discussions such as this one come up. I could care less by your stance on immigration policy; forcing children into these systems, especially when there is no real need for it, is abhorrent behavior.
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/23/613907893... - https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/21/us/undocumented-migrant-child... - https://sputniknews.com/us/201806211065644106-US-Detention-C...