A jail-like environment houses children fleeing poverty and crime to come to the US. Even though officials had been repeatedly warned about the influx of children seeking asylum, facilities were not prepared for the latest wave of children attempting to cross the US border.
The legal limit to hold someone in Border Patrol Facilities is 72 hours. Over 800 children have been held like this for the past 10 + days.
As emergency shelters for the children are being organized, kids as young as 1 are being held in cages now, sleeping w aluminum instead of sheets and on concrete floors.
Some kids haven’t seen sunlight in days and others are taking turns showering, often going days without one, according to case managers.
Children described sleeping on the floor or on metal benches. The children were only allowed outside a few minutes every few days.
The Biden administration has not allowed journalists to visit the facilities, but several lawmakers have been able to visit. Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar provided above photos, revealing the conditions the kids are facing in border patrol facilities. The lack of transparency with press is new to this administration.
Getty Images special correspondent John Moore on Twitter Friday asked US Customs and Border Protection “to stop blocking media access to their border operations.””I have photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump but now — zero access is granted to media,” Moore said.
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