Last week, the New York Post ran a story reporting that unaccompanied migrant children that were being brought from the US-Mexico border to a new shelter in Long Beach, California were each given a copy of the Vice President Kamala Harris' 2019 children's book, "Superheroes Are Everywhere."
"Kamala isn't at the southern border — but migrant kids are getting Veep's book," the headline of an archived version of the NY Post article read.
"Unaccompanied migrant kids brought from the U.S.-Mexico border to a new shelter in Long Beach, Calif., will be given a copy of her 2019 children's book, 'Superheroes are Everywhere,' in their welcome kits," read the second paragraph of the archived story.
The story, which featured a photograph of the book propped up on a cot along with a black backpack, was seen as an opportunity by right-wing social media users, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, that the taxpayers' money was being used to provide illegal immigrants Harris' book.
Harris' Book Was Donated During a Citywide Donation Drive
We can confirm that Harris's book was not being handed out in welcome kits. A single copy of the book was donated during a citywide donation drive, officials said. The photo seen in the New York Post article shows just one of the books donated by an individual.
"The City of Long Beach, in partnership with the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, has a citywide book and toy drive that is ongoing to support the migrant children who are temporarily staying in Long Beach at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shelter," city spokesman Kevin Lee told the Washington Post. "The book you reference is one of hundreds of books that have already been donated. The book was not purchased by [U.S. Health and Human Services] or the City."
Author of NY Post Article Quits Over 'Incorrect' Kamala Harris Story
The author of the New York Post story, Laura Italiano, took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that she had tendered her resignation from the publication over the "incorrect" Kamala Harris story.
The New York Post article was later updated with a new headline that read, "Kamala isn't at the southern border — but at least one migrant kid got Veep's book." The updated version also included an editor's note that read, "The original version of this article said migrant kids were getting Harris' book in a welcome kit, but has been updated to note that only one known copy of the book was given to a child."
