"you say that the mother voluntarily handed the children over to the authorities. What choice did she have?"

What choice did the state have? Let the girls roam free? Put the repsonsibility for their care on the hospital? Their job is to care for the sick, not babysit.

What really happened to the girls? They were put in a group home, made to take a shower in what was surely a humiliating experience, given standard-issue clothes to wear,photographed, and asked questions to determine if there were any problems.   Based on their story, it must have been scary as hell, but was it a violation of human rights? I don't think there is a court in the world that would send anyone to jail based on those facts.

The point is, none of us know for sure. I agree with Barry and M.Ted, the kids should have been offered a room at the hospital, but it appears that was not an option.   That might be the real story here, not a violation of human rights.   We managed to squeeze in diatribes about Homeland Security, INS and other issues that do not pertain to the few facts that we have been given in this case.