A small clip of news anchor Rachel Maddow breaking down live on air has gone viral. The MSNBC host was reading out news about the Trump administration operating “tender age” shelters for migrant babies and toddlers. While she was reading the news bulletin, Maddow received an alert from Associated Press that there are tender age shelters, where immigrant babies and young children are being placed after they’re separated from their parents at the U.S. border.

The anchor couldn't continue with the news, and literally struggled for words, as she passed the news to the hour's next host saying, "I think I’m going to have to hand this off”.

Watch the news clip

Rachel apologised for breaking down live on camera and for not being able to continue with the news. She shared her sentiments on Twitter saying, "“If nothing else, it is my job to actually be able to speak while I'm on TV.” And shared a copy of the lede she had received and was finding it difficult to read.

According to the Associated Press report which Rachel had received, the shelter homes have play rooms of crying pre school age children in crisis. The report further elaborates that, since the White House announced its zero tolerance policy in early May, more than 2,300 children have been taken from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. This has resulted in a new influx of young children requiring government care. Trump government has been facing immense flak over images of some of the children in cages inside U.S. Border Patrol processing stations.

Trump's stringent immigration laws is seeing devastating effects on family lives. Recently an audio clip of separated child calling out to her father 'Papa Papa!' has caused outrage among the people. The heart wrenching video has one child weeping and it captures the pain of separation of children from parents.

The migrant children are labelled as 'unaccompanied minors' and they are sent to the government's custody or foster care and their 'criminal' parents are sent to jail custody.  Trump has defended the Immigration policy and has said, "You have to take children away to prosecute parents." According to an ANI report, more than 2,000 children have been separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border between April 19 and May 31.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2018 01:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).