A Texas congressman is denouncing conditions in which children who crossed the border illegally are being held in the Customs and Border Protection temporary facility in Donna, Texas.
The facility was set up to house the overflow from other facilities that have been swamped by the flood of migrants entering the country illegally.
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas told the news outlet Axios that the facility provided “terrible conditions for the children.” He also released images from inside the facility to the website.
???? Axios has PHOTOS inside an illegal immigrant detention facility.
They’re pretty bad. https://t.co/kzybDViXl3
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 22, 2021
“Exclusive photos from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary overflow facility in Donna, Texas, reveal the crowded, makeshift conditions at the border as the government’s longer-term child shelters and family detention centers fill up.”https://t.co/WJnkV4zBFX pic.twitter.com/7XqagoPwak
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) March 22, 2021
As of Saturday, about 10,000 migrants were being held in CBP custody, according to Axios.
About half of those are children, Axios reported, many of whom had been held longer than the supposed maximum of three days.
The Biden administration has banned media organizations from photographing the interior of the facilities where thousands of unaccompanied children are being held. Cuellar said he did not tour the facility, but was given the images.
The facility has eight so-called pods with a capacity of 260 each, Cuellar told Axios. As of Sunday, one pod had 400 male minors, he said.
Border Patrol agents are “doing the best they can under the circumstances” but are “not equipped to care for kids” and “need help from the administration,” Cuellar told Axios.
“We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States. We have to work with Mexico and Central American countries to have them apply for asylum in their countries,” he said.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy visited a border facility last week and said he “fought back tears as a 13-year-old girl sobbed uncontrollably, explaining through a translator how terrified she was.”
Senator @ChrisMurphyCT joins us now to describe his experience. pic.twitter.com/nkoJqXsTKf
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 22, 2021
Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas said that he expects there will be shock when he leads a delegation of 14 House members to the border, according to Fox News. Top officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, do not really grasp the extent of the crisis
“I don’t think that folks in the federal government, whether it’s Mayorkas or it’s members of Congress, are prepared to witness what’s going on at the border as a result of President Biden’s policies,” he told “Fox News Live.”
Arrington said the Biden administration says one thing while doing another.
Don’t ask Biden, just ask the Texans who are in the thick of the Southern Border Crisis.
They will tell you the truth → Biden’s actions are the cause of this disaster.
And the Dems’ amnesty bill will only add fuel to the fire of the burning chaos at the border. pic.twitter.com/Y7Ai8ArJvU
— Rep. Jodey Arrington (@RepArrington) March 18, 2021
“I heard the clip about [Homeland Security Secretary] Mayorkas saying we’re encouraging people to not cross the border. The fact is, actions speak louder than words. And the policies taken together are saying, ‘come one, come all, violate our laws and we won’t detain and deport you,'” Arrington told Fox.
In a statement Sunday, former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
New statement from former President Donald Trump, on the Biden administration’s quickly deteriorating Southwest border crisis: “the Biden Administration has turned a national triumph into a national disaster.” pic.twitter.com/3gy0ALkJtD
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) March 21, 2021
“We proudly handed the Biden Administration the most secure border in history. All they had to do was keep this smooth-running system on autopilot. Instead, in the span of a just few weeks, the Biden Administration has turned a national triumph into a national disaster. They are in way over their heads and taking on water fast,” Trump said in a statement that specifically criticized Mayorkas by name.
“This administration’s reckless policies are enabling and encouraging crimes against humanity. Our country is being destroyed!”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
