The crying face of family separation not actually separated from her mother: Report

The little girl at the center of Time Magazine’s July cover was not separated from her mother at the border, Reuters reported Friday morning.

“My daughter has become a symbol of the … separation of children at the U.S. border. She may have even touched President Trump’s heart,” Denis Valera, who claims to be the father, said in an interview with Reuters.

The cover illustration Photoshops an image of President Trump staring down at the distraught little girl, with the caption, “Welcome to America.”

“They’re using it to symbolize a policy and that was not the case in this picture,” Carlos Ruiz, the border control agent who worked with the mother and daughter, told CBS News’ David Begnaud.

Mr. Ruiz explained that the mother put the daughter down so she could be searched and that is when the little girl started crying. He checked in on them, and mother assured him her daughter was tired and thirsty but otherwise OK.

The original photo was taken by John Moore, who works for Getty Images.

Both Mr. Valera and the Honduran government confirmed that the girl and her mother Sandra Sanchez applied for asylum in McAllen, Texas, and were detained together.

There is no news yet whether the two will be deported or approved to live in the United States. Mr. Valera said even deportation will be “OK” as long as mother and daughter are kept together.