DHS Watchdog Warns That ‘Dangerous Overcrowding,’ Inhumane Conditions At Detention Facilities Require Swift Action
In a strongly worded report, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General said the prolonged detention of migrants without proper food, hygiene or laundry facilities — some for more than a month — requires "immediate attention and action." Photos in the report show how extensive the problems at the facilities are.
The New York Times:
Government Watchdog Finds Squalid Conditions In Border Centers
Overcrowded, squalid conditions are more widespread at migrant centers along the southern border than initially revealed, the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog said Tuesday. Its report describes standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release. The findings by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General were released as House Democrats detailed their own findings at migrant holding centers and pressed the agency to answer for the mistreatment not only of migrants but also of their own colleagues, who have been threatened on social media. (Kanno-Youngs, 7/2)
NPR:
DHS Watchdog Describes Crammed Detention Centers, A Ticking Time Bomb
Inspectors from DHS's Office of Inspector General in June visited Border Patrol facilities and ports of entry across the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, the busiest sector in the country for illegal border crossings. "We are concerned that overcrowding and prolonged detention represent an immediate risk to the health and safety of DHS agents and officers, and to those detained," they wrote. In its response to the report, the Department of Homeland Security says the surge of migrants crossing the Southern border has led to an "acute and worsening crisis." (Rose and Burnett, 7/2)
The Associated Press:
Government Photos Show Detained Migrants Pleading For Help
As public outrage grows over the conditions in which thousands of people — some no more than a few months old — are being held by the U.S. government, the report offered new cause for alarm. It quotes one senior government manager as calling the situation "a ticking time bomb." "Specifically, when detainees observed us, they banged on the cell windows, shouted, pressed notes to the window with their time in custody, and gestured to evidence of their time in custody," the report says. BuzzFeed first reported on a draft version of the report, which blurs most faces in the photos. (7/2)
Reuters:
'Help, 40 Days Here': Photos Show Migrants Crammed Into U.S. Border Facilities
Security incidents among men at RGV facilities included detainees clogging toilets in order to be released from cells, migrants refusing to return to cells, and special operations teams brought in to show that Border Patrol was prepared to use force, the report on Tuesday said. Migrants banged on cell windows and shouted when investigators visited. Most single adults had not had a shower despite several being held as long as a month. One photo showed a man in a cell with 88 men, that was built to hold 41, holding a message reading: "Help 40 Day(s) Here." (7/2)
CNN:
Watchdog Finds Extreme Overcrowding In Border Patrol Facilities In Unannounced Inspections
The watchdog found additional violations of detention policy, such as a lack of hot meals, inadequate access to showers and limited access to a change of clothes. For example, children at three of the five Border Patrol facilities did not have access to showers, despite a policy requiring that "reasonable efforts" be made to provide showers to children who are in detention for 48 hours. And many single adults were found to have been receiving only bologna sandwiches to eat, causing some on the diet to become constipated and require medical attention. (Sands, 7/2)
CBS News:
DHS Inspector General Report Reveals Squalid Conditions At Migrant Detention Centers
According to the inspector general, three of the five facilities were not providing detained children access to showers or clean clothes. In two facilities, minors had not been given a hot meal until the inspectors arrived. (Montoya-Galvez, 7/2)
USA Today:
Images Of Border Patrol Migrant Overcrowding Released
This image released in a report on July 2, 2019, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General Office (OIG) shows 88 adult males in a cell for a maximum capacity of 41 overcrowding a Border Patrol facility on June 12, 2019, in Fort Brown, Texas. (7/2)
Houston Chronicle:
Joaquin Castro Sneaks Camera Into Border Patrol Facility, Shares Photos Of Migrants Who 'Need Help'
When Democratic lawmakers toured Border Patrol facilities Monday, officials asked them to surrender their phones. But one Texas congressman was able to sneak a device in, capturing the conditions and the migrants being held there. (Sabawi, 7/2)
KCUR:
Mumps Case Confirmed In Kansas ICE Detention Facility, 22 Others Exposed
A detainee at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Chase County, Kansas, has tested positive for mumps, and 22 other migrants may have been exposed. ICE discovered the detainee with the mumps on June 18, then identified the others who came into contact with that person, said Shawn A. Neudauer, an ICE public affairs officer. (Lowe, 7/2)
Reuters:
House Panel To Hold Hearing On Treatment Of Migrant Children
The House Oversight Committee has scheduled a hearing next week on the separation and treatment of immigrant children and has launched an investigation into reports of offensive Facebook posts by border patrol officers, the panel said on Tuesday. Representative Elijah Cummings, the committee’s Democratic chairman, said the panel had invited Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan from the Department of Homeland Security and Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to testify on July 12. (7/2)
