Exclusive

Melania Trump: Why She’s Determined To Visit More ’Tender Age Shelters’ To Ensure Kids Are Safe

Melania Trump
AP Images
Melania Trump Meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government in Brussels, Waterloo, Belgium - 11 Jul 2018 US First Lady Melania Trump looks on during a visit of the spouses of NATO leaders in the Walloon Brabant region, in Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, south of Brussels, Belgium, 11 July 2018. NATO member countries' heads of states and governments gather in Brussels on 11 and 12 July 2018 for a two days meeting.
First lady Melania Trump reads a Christmas book titled, "Oliver the Ornament Meets Marley and Joan and Abbey," at Children's National Hospital, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Washington. Due to pandemic concerns there were two children in the room and the reading was broadcast to children in the rest of the hospital. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
First lady Melania Trump arrives to read a Christmas story with Sofia Martinez, 8, left, and Riley Whitney, 6, both children who are patients at Children's National Hospital, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, during an annual event in Washington. Due to pandemic concerns there were two children in the room and the reading was broadcast to children in the rest of the hospital. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
First lady Melania Trump walks around the 2020 official White House Christmas tree after it arrived at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. This year's tree is an 18.5-foot Fraser Fir, selected and cut from Dan and Bryan Trees in Shepherdstown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) View Gallery View Gallery 39 Photos.
Political News Editor

Her jacket said ‘I don’t care’ but Melania Trump wants to prove she does. FLOTUS intends to go to AZ to visit more migrant children in detention centers, and we’ve exclusively learned WHY.

UPDATE: First Lady Melania Trump visited a Customs and Border Patrol facility in Tucson, Arizona on June 28 (the day after our EXCLUSIVE, below, was posted), where she hosted a televised roundtable discussion with the center’s officials. This time, she was dressed quite conservatively in a long-sleeved, black shirt and white pants — no offensive clothing. Her goal in Tucson, according to East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham, is to “learn and educate herself” about issues at the border firsthand, as well as thank those working at the facility.

FLOTUS will continue to “encourage family reunification” and urge Congress “to fix our broken immigration system,” Grisham said. “She recognizes it’s a complex issue. She definitely believes in strong border laws. She wants to make sure the kids are well taken care of.” After the roundtable, the first lady is touring the intake center — a short-term holding facility where families are separated. She will also receive a private intelligence briefing.

ORIGINAL: Melania Trump‘s visit to a child detention center in McAllen, Texas on June 21 didn’t go so well, to say the least. The tour of the facility housing children was cut short because of flooding in the town, and the visit was marred by her baffling decision to wear a jacket that said “I don’t care. Do u?” on the back. After that gaffe, she’s determined to right the wrongs and head to another facility in Tucson, Arizona to visit children being held there, and a source close to the first lady told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY why she’ll do so.

“Melania is very keen to see the facilities with her own eyes and to speak to staff and children so she can access how they are being treated, and to ensure that there are no abuses — that everything is as it should be,” the source told us EXCLUSIVELY. Melania has heard some alarming stories about what’s been happening inside some of the facilities, so she wants to check them out herself. And while the children are here in the United States, she intends to make sure they are at least kept safe and cared for.”

“Alarming stories” is putting it lightly. Families seeking asylum in the United States have been torn apart, children literally ripped away from their parents at the US-Mexico border by ICE. They’re taken to these detention centers as if they’re prisoners, and their parents have no idea where they are —  sometimes as far away as New York or Seattle. The kids at some facilities (at least one a former Wal-Mart) are reportedly only allowed outside a couple hours a day, have no toys, and are, horrifyingly, allegedly kept in cages. So yes, it’s “alarming.”

It’s unclear how the first lady’s visit to check on the children would help improve their situation, but at least there’s one thing — “Melania won’t be wearing anything controversial this time,” the source said. That’s a start!