Photographs released by Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar on Monday appear to show rampant overcrowded conditions for child migrants in a facility in Donna, Texas.
The migrants, many of whom appear to be sharing a tent with dozens of other minors, can be seen laying on mats with space blankets while facing a small television.
Cuellar said the tents are dubbed “pods” and hold up to 260 people. However, one particular dormitory was home to 400 migrants at the time of the picture, he told Axios. Cuellar did not visit the center and reportedly obtained the photographs from an unknown source.
The Democratic representative added that Border Patrol is “not equipped to care for kids,” and the Biden administration needs to step up to rectify the problem.
“We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States,” Cuellar said. “We have to work with Mexico and Central American countries to have them apply for asylum in their countries.”
The inside look into the facility follows the Biden administration reportedly stonewalling access to the Donna, Texas, facility earlier in the month for lawyers. Attorneys at the time said the holding center housed 1,000 children, and those present were often sleeping on the floor when mats became scarce.
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“It is pretty surprising that the administration talks about the importance of transparency and then won’t let the attorneys for children set eyes on where they’re staying,” lawyer Leecia Welch said. “I find that very disappointing.”
The facility has faced allegations that it denied showers to solo minors, didn’t provide soap, and forbade some from calling their parents or guardians.
Those in President Biden’s orbit have also limited access to facilities for journalists, a subject of criticism against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when he appeared on multiple networks on Sunday. The top official blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the prohibition on media visits.
Biden has faced sharp backlash for his handling of the border crisis, particularly with child migrants, as critics liken the current administration’s policies to that of former President Donald Trump, who was slammed for his supposed inhumane approach to immigration. Roughly 4,200 migrant children have found themselves in short-term holding facilities designed for adults, 3,000 of which have been held past the legal detention limit of 72 hours under the Democrat’s watch.
Some of the solo minors have been detained in jail-like concrete rooms without beds, dubbed “hieleras,” or iceboxes as authorities estimate an unprecedented 117,000 migrant children will enter the U.S. by the conclusion of the year. The Biden administration has scrambled to find alternative housing to meet the demand and has resorted to reopening a Trump-era migrant facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, in addition to others in both Pecos and Dallas, Texas.
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Earlier this month, officials said migrant children are under U.S. care for an average of 37 days, admitting that they are unable to keep up with the skyrocketing demand.
“We are not in a place where we’re going to be able to meet the demand that we are seeing,” a Biden administration official said. “Every day, we are bringing new beds online, but it takes a lot of time, unfortunately, in terms of our licensed care-provider network. We are aggressively adding hundreds of beds by the week to our care-provider network.”
Neither Customs and Border Protection nor the White House responded to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
