The Weekly Episode 3 recap: Baby Constantin becomes poster child for separated families

In the third episode of FX’s The Weekly series, investigative journalist Caitlin Dickerson gets to the bottom of family separations at the Southern border of the United States. Continue reading for a recap/review of Episode 3 “Baby Constantin” below.

The New York Times has seen much controversy in recent months what with President Trump labeling them “fake news”. This has altered the public’s perception on which news outlets to listen to but the shift is heading in an entirely different direction now that The Weekly is broadcasting all around the United States.

On the most recent episode of the breakout investigative series, the New York Times’ team conducted an investigation of Baby Constantin — a Romanian child separated from his parents at the United States’ Southern border. Constantin was just one of the thousands who got lost in the broken immigration system supported by the Trump Administration, and he and other refugee children like him have been separated from their families, without reason or cause. What’s worse is they’re essentially unreachable at the moment.

Caitlin Dickerson, The Times’ lead reporter on Baby Constantin’s case, uncovers quite a few startling truths during her investigation. One of the biggest reveals is the fact that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hasn’t kept accurate records of families separated at the border.

Every family processed at the border was originally given an identification number to trace them back to their children — the problem is ICE hasn’t maintained usable records. Scott Shuchart, a former DHS (Department of Homeland Security) advisor, pointed out to Dickerson that the government doesn’t know how to locate these migrant children.

To make matters even worse, an inside source reveals to Dickerson that border agents were ordered to delete identification numbers — tags which could’ve been used to reunite families. But without those numbers, agencies working to remedy these wrongs have to sort through paperwork by hand. This can be time-consuming and lead to dead ends if errors occurred, which they more than likely did.

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The decision to delete sensitive information from records can be interpreted in many ways, though it almost seems like the United States government doesn’t want these children to be found. The Trump Administration has made it increasingly difficult to reunite migrant families with new policies, and the fact that government employees are destroying crucial information gives us the impression that someone at the top is purposely giving out these orders.

In any case, Dickerson’s well-researched investigation into Baby Constantin has shed light on a controversial subject which most Americans have visibly ignored. Hopefully, that trend won’t last because the United States can’t be a country where humanitarian crises go unnoticed. Not only that, but the world’s perception of America is changing and not for the better. Take Baby Constantin’s family for instance.

The child is eventually brought home to his real family in Romania but Constantin’s mother was frightened by the whole experience. Any mother would react the same way, it’s just what Florentina says that raises concerns.

When she’s asked by Dickerson about the ordeal, Florentina considers what happened to be a kidnapping. She isn’t delirious or irrational, or even angry when she rightfully should be, Florentina is simply fearful that it’ll happen again. Florentina doesn’t elaborate too much but her statements are enough to suggest she now possesses a fear/hate of the United States.

What’s so striking about Florentina’s commentary is the rest of the world may share those sentiments. The United States’ reputation has fluctuated over the past few decades, but now that the current administration is instituting policies which instill fear in others, people from around the world are going to feel similarly. The only thing we can do is hope that enough American people take notice and realize the message we’re sending to the rest of the world — and do something to change it.

What are your thoughts on Baby Constantin and the immigration crisis? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Weekly airs Sundays on FX. All episodes are currently streaming on Hulu. For more on the NY Times’ based series, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.

(Source: New York Times)