As Congress continues to drag its feet, the humanitarian crisis at the border continues to worsen, and the truth of what asylum-seeking migrants face when they enter the United States becomes more obscure.
A congressional delegation of more than a dozen House members traveled to the southern border this week to visit two migrant detention centers — one in El Paso and another in Clint, Texas. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the conditions were abysmal and claimed Customs and Border Protection officers told detained women to “drink out of the toilets.”
“After I forced myself into a cell w/ women & began speaking to them, one of them described their treatment at the hands of officers as ‘psychological warfare’ — waking them at odd hours for no reason, calling them wh*res, etc.,” she wrote. “Tell me what about that is due to a ‘lack of funding?’”
Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-Texas, confirmed Ocasio-Cortez’s account and said the facility conditions were “indefensible.”
This moment captures what it’s like for women in CBP custody to share a cramped cell—some held for 50 days—for them to be denied showers for up to 15 days and life-saving medication. For some, it also means being separated from their children. This is El Paso Border Station #1. pic.twitter.com/OmCAlGxDt8
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) July 1, 2019
If Ocasio-Cortez’s account is true, the U.S. has much to regret. Decency does not require funding. Fair and humane treatment does not depend on congressional action. But the problem is that several witnesses have disputed Ocasio-Cortez’s claims. Two of them even said Ocasio-Cortez screamed at federal law enforcement agents “in a threatening manner” and refused to tour the facility.
And according to a border agent on scene, Ocasio-Cortez misrepresented why a migrant “drunk from a toilet.”
“So this is what happened with the migrant and drinking water from toilet: she wanted water, didn’t know how to use the faucet in the cell, and drank from the toilet. She never told AOC that we made her drink from the toilet. AOC, of course, changed it,” the agent said.
Somewhere in between these conflicting narratives lies the truth. And right now we don’t know what it is. Ocasio-Cortez and her Democratic colleagues are likely exaggerating to score political points against the Trump administration. Conditions at the border are surely bad, and the Trump administration has admitted as much by implication in highlighting the crisis there for more than six months now.
Even without the hyperbole, it’s clear that the overcrowded, underfunded detention centers are accelerating the humanitarian crisis these migrants face. So it’s well past time both sides in Congress take this seriously and funds both the facilities and border enforcement.
