Sen. Ted Cruz slammed CNN’s reporting of the situation at the southern border while saying President Biden’s immigration platform will only lead to more human trafficking.
“CNN: Biden administration putting kids in cages,” Cruz said on Twitter. “Tragically, as a result of the promise of amnesty, more unaccompanied children are being put into the custody of human traffickers and facing horrific abuse.”
Cruz was responding to CNN immigration reporter Priscilla Alvarez, who reported that the Biden administration opened an overflow detainment facility in Texas amid a surge in border apprehensions.
CNN: Biden administration putting kids in cages.
Tragically, as a result of the promise of amnesty, more unaccompanied children are being put into the custody of human traffickers and facing horrific abuse. https://t.co/EmcVmZBQjU
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 3, 2021
Biden has signed multiple executive orders in the first few weeks of his presidency aimed at reversing many of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. In addition to halting construction on the wall, Biden has signed executive orders aimed at relaxing the previous administration’s strict enforcement rules.
“I’m not making new law. I’m eliminating bad policy,” Biden said of the executive orders.
However, the promises of more relaxed enforcement have already begun to cause a surge in migration, including unaccompanied minors that are often the victims of human trafficking.
The coronavirus pandemic has also complicated matters for immigration authorities, who now have to work with reduced capacity detention facilities in an attempt to prevent an outbreak of the virus among migrants.
Now, the Health and Human Service Department is reopening the detention facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, which can currently hold 700 children and can increase its capacity if necessary.
The Carrizo Springs facility was closed in July 2019, less than a month after it opened. It was constructed as an emergency shelter to host migrant children as a way to alleviate overcrowding that had plagued other facilities. However, the facility’s life was short-lived due to a decrease in unaccompanied migrant children attempting to cross the southern border.
With a renewed surge in illegal migration, the Carrizo Springs facility will begin to host children older than 13 who are medically cleared of COVID-19.
“HHS is mindful of these children’s vulnerability, and our priority is the safety and wellbeing of each child in our care. HHS anticipates the need to start placing children at Carrizo Springs in 15 days or soon after,” HHS said in a statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
