FACT-CHECKING any and all news today is more critical than ever to ensure that valid, honest, truthful, and factual information is passed to the public over the airwaves and in print.
This topic of infant formula shortage underscores the seriousness of having news and
opinion such as this story and headline from
SNOPES (formatted to fit the blog) shows that critical need:
“Was Baby Formula Shipped to
US-Mexico Border Amid Shortage?”
Border
officials are required by law to provide food for any minors in their custody.
· Baby formula can be found at migration
processing facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
· Since the 1990’s, border officials have been
required to provide adequate food and water to minors.
· The baby formula shortage in the United States
was caused by recalls, supply chain issues, and the purchasing patterns of new
parents.
The photograph above is often accompanied by captions
accusing the Biden administration of causing or worsening the shortage by
prioritizing refugees over Americans, and comes mostly from GOP-RW-Fox type
sources.
For example: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY / 21st CD) and BTW: my member of congress tweeted: “Joe
Biden continues to put America LAST by shipping pallets of baby formula to the
southern border as American families face empty shelves.”
1. Is
it true that the Biden administration is shipping baby formula to the border?
2. If
so, is this a new endeavor?
3. Is
it causing or worsening the current baby formula shortage?
Why is There Baby
Formula at the Border? Simple, because it is required by law.
Border officials are required to provide humane treatment to
any person detained at a border processing facility. This includes providing
bathrooms, sinks, food, water, medical attention, and other basic necessities.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in an email:
“CBP takes seriously its legal responsibility to ensure the safety and
security of individuals in our custody. Ensuring migrants, including children
and infants, in our custody have their basic needs met is in line with this
Administration’s commitment to ensuring safe, orderly, and humane processes at
our border. CBP complies with all applicable regulations for the purchase of
products used in CBP facilities.”
Is Providing Baby Formula at the Border a New Policy? No, it is not.
While outrage over the
presence of baby formula at the border is new in May 2022, this isn’t a new
policy. In fact, border officials have been required to provide adequate food
to minors since at least the 1990's.
In 1997, for example during the Bill Clinton administration, a class action
lawsuit regarding the treatment of immigrant children while in the custody of
the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was settled in
what is known as “The Flores Agreement.”
This agreement set strict national standards for the detention and treatmentof minors while in federal custody.
The Flores agreement requires CBP: To provide adequate food and water to any minor in their
custody stated in part this way:
“Facilities will provide access to toilets and sinks, drinking water and
food as appropriate, medical assistance if the minor is in need of emergency
services, adequate temperature control and ventilation, adequate supervision to protect minors from
others, and contact with family members who were arrested with the minor.”
An article published
by the CBP that detailed the agency’s response to the
thousands of Central American migrants who sought asylum in the U.S. during Trump’s
administration stated that the agency provided diapers, clothing, and baby
formula to migrant families states: “In
addition to having a roof over their heads out of the summer heat, CBP provided
hot meals and snacks, hygiene kits, medical services, transportation, sleeping
mats, blankets, drinking water, diapers, wipes, baby formula, and clothing sets.”
Rosie
Zaragoza-Santos, a contracting specialist who works with the CBP office
responsible for the timely buying and delivery of the supplies and services
provided at each temporary structure said: “We are providing a humane solution to families, unaccompanied children
and adults during this crisis. We are providing all the essential services and
products. We are addressing the humanitarian effort by issuing contracts that
provide clean clothing, housing, food, medical care and showers for incoming
migrants, while also supporting our agents at the frontline.”
Is the Baby Formula
at the Border Causing the Baby Formula Shortage now across the country? No,
not really – why not?
As investigated, that cause of the baby formula shortage now was not mentioned.
Generally
speaking, the shortage started after one of the major U.S. manufacturers of
baby formula had to recall several products based on reported infant
deaths. Then inflation and general supply chain issues started impacting
overall supply.
The Atlantic reported that the COVID-19 pandemic also
complicated issues, as it changed baby formula purchasing patterns stating: The
pandemic snarled all sorts of supply chains and no market has been yanked
around more than infant formula.
Lyman Stone, the
director of research at the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence said: “During the spring of 2020, formula sales
rocketed upwards as people stockpiled formula just like they stockpiled toilet
paper. Then, as families worked through their stockpiles, sales fell a lot.
This oscillation made planning for production extremely difficult. It was
complicated to get an idea of the actual market size.”
Stone’s research also found
that an uptick in births in early 2022 corresponded with a “very dramatic
decline in rates of breastfeeding” among new mothers, which pushed up demand
for formula once again.
It should also be noted that the amount of baby formula used
at these migration facilities accounts for a miniscule portion of the formula
that is used across the country.
In 2020, there were approximately 3.6 million babies born in the United States, and about 75% were fed infant formula at some point before the age of one.
Comparatively speaking, there were close to 150,000 unaccompanied minors in detention at some point during 2021, the vast majority of whom (75%) were over the age of 15.
The
precise number of infants who passed through custody is more likely in the
hundreds, not millions.
My 2 cents: Leave it to FOX types to pick and choose a topic, bend it out of shape, then hype it like crazy for political and viewer gain.
Then add in members of Congress who jump in with both feet weakly adding to the hype, just like pitiful Rep. Stefanik, et
al.
Footnote on Ms. Stefanik whom I have been tracking since she first
arrived on the scene and ran for congress in this district.
She comes across as
thinking she is the smartest person in the room and knows more than anyone
else. FYI Ms. Stefanik: You are not and you do not.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sample of related stories with many
more listed at main story link above:
1. The
“Faux Outrage” that Biden is Stockpiling Baby Formula for Undocumented
Immigrants: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/12/faux-outrage-that-biden-is-stockpiling-baby-formula-undocumented-immigrants/
2. Border
Agents Give Migrant Moms Diapers, Baby Formula: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/border-agents-give-migrant-moms-diapers-baby-formula-n134361
3. Border
Crisis: CBP’s Response: https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/border-crisis-cbp-s-response
4. Border
Detention Center Looks Stocked with Baby Formula despite Shortage: https://nypost.com/2022/05/12/border-detention-center-has-baby-formula-amid-shortage-photos/
5. CDC:
2020 Breastfeeding Report Card: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.html
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