US President Joe Biden’s administration for the first time on Tuesday allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 people, including children and families, were crammed into a space intended for 250 and the youngest were kept in a large playpen with mats on the floor for sleeping.
With thousands of children and families arriving at the US-Mexico border over the past few weeks and packing facilities, Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process.
US Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the nation’s busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
Photo: AP
More than 4,100 people were being housed on the property. Most were unaccompanied children processed in tents before being taken to facilities run by the US Department of Health and Human Services and then placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.
The children were being housed by the hundreds in eight “pods” formed by plastic dividers, each about 297m2 in size.
Many of the pods had more than 500 children in them.
Oscar Escamilla, acting chief executive officer of the US Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, said that 250 to 300 children enter daily and far fewer leave.
The youngest children — among them, a three-year-old girl being cared for by her 11-year-old brother and a newborn with a 17-year-old mother — are kept out of the pods and sleep in a playpen area.
The journalists watched children being processed: They went into a small room for a lice inspection and a health check; their hair was hosed down and towels were tossed in a black bin marked “Lice”; and they were checked for scabies, fever and other ailments.
No COVID-19 test was given unless a child showed symptoms.
Nurse practitioners gave psychological tests, asking children if they had suicidal thoughts. All shoelaces were removed to avoid harm to anyone.
The children were led to a large intake room. Those 14 and older were fingerprinted and had their photograph taken.
In a second intake room, they got notices to appear for immigration court.
Border Patrol agents asked them if they had a contact in the US and allowed them to call that person.
Children were given bracelets with a barcode that shows a history of when they showered and medical conditions.
Outside the facility, the roar of construction equipment could be heard along with air-conditioning.
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