Rep. Hagedorn is spreading false information about the incarceration of migrant children.

“The people that are there, they can leave. Nobody is holding them against their will.”

That’s what Rep. Hagedorn said of the detention centers for migrant children during his Rochester town hall Friday night, based on a recording and transcript of words taken in context.

Rep. Hagedorn is bolstering his support of the incarceration of children at the border with false assertions. Can you imagine a 3-year-old, non-English-speaking girl walking away from guards and cages and trying to locate her parents on her own?

It��s understandable that Hagedorn needs to construct false scenarios. Otherwise he might be overwhelmed by the moral heinousness of the policies that he supports. Visiting doctors and lawyers have called the “shelters” comparable to “torture facilities” and decried the caging of children, the absence of mattresses and decent food, and the lack of basic sanitation. Even Highlights Magazine for children has spoken out against these conditions.

When will Hagedorn admit the truth?

Marian Broida

St. Peter