Leaked document: More than 800 migrant kids held in cage-like facilities for over 10 days. The max time allowed is 72 hours.



A recently leaked Department of Homeland Security document obtained by Axios revealed that thousands of migrant children are being held in Border Patrol surge facilities longer than is legally allowed — with 823 of them being kept in the cramped, cage-like units for more than 10 days.

Under current law, 72 hours is the maximum amount of time that a child is legally allowed to be in Border Patrol custody, after which they are to be transferred into longer-term facilities operated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

However, in the first weeks and months since assuming power, President Joe Biden and his administration have been unable to manage the crisis, as unprecedented numbers of migrants descend on the U.S.-Mexico border in hopes of lenient treatment under the new president.

The news outlet reported Monday that "as of Saturday, 3,314 unaccompanied children had been in custody longer [than is legally permitted], with 2,226 for more than five days and 823 for more than 10 days."

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that many migrant children are being held for longer than three days. But on Monday, Axios reported that the new numbers exhibit "more than a fourfold increase over the past week," a sign that the problem is only worsening.

"Last Monday, only 185 migrant children were being held in [Border patrol] custody for more than 10 days," the report stated.

Part of the reason the law dictates that children can only be housed in Border Patrol custody for 72 hours is simply that the temporary surge facilities operated by the agency are not suitable to house children for any longer.

Photos leaked by Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar's office on Monday from inside a surge facility in Donna, Texas, show hundreds of children packed into small makeshift rooms with nothing but thin mattresses and bedding materials.

Conditions inside facilities like the one in Donna have been previously described by media organizations as "grim," cage-like, and "akin to jails."

Cuellar described the setting as "terrible conditions for the children," adding that Border Patrol agents were "doing the best they can under the circumstances" but are "not equipped to care for kids" and "need help from the administration."

To free up space inside both shorter- and longer-term facilities, the Biden administration has reportedly decided to spend $86 million in taxpayer money to pay for hotel rooms to accommodate migrant children and their family members.

New photos show 'terrible conditions' inside border facility as hundreds of migrant children are packed into small makeshift rooms



New photos inside one of the Biden administration's surge facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border show the awful conditions under which migrant children are being kept amid the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.

The photos, shared with Axios by Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas), were taken inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary surge facility in Donna, Texas, and show hundreds of children packed into tiny, makeshift rooms as they await transfer to longer-term facilities operated by the Department of Health and Humans Services. Conditions inside such facilities have previously been described as "grim," cage-like, and "akin to jails."

Due to the rapid influx of migrants and the unpreparedness of the administration, many of the migrant children are being kept in surge facilities for longer than is legally permitted.

The photos provide a rare look inside the facilities, as the Biden administration has to this point blocked access to media organizations and placed an unofficial "gag order" on Border Patrol agents, restricting their ability to share information with journalists.

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Axios reported that each of the eight "pods" inside the so-called "soft-sided facility" has a maximum occupancy of 260 people. But Cuellar told the outlet that as of Sunday, one of the pods contained more than 400 unaccompanied male minors.

The Democratic lawmaker described the setting as "terrible conditions for the children." He added that Border Patrol agents are "doing the best they can under the circumstances" but are "not equipped to care for kids" and "need help from the administration."

"We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States," he continued. "We have to work with Mexico and Central American countries to have them apply for asylum in their countries."

Cuellar noted that he did not tour the facility or take the photos himself, but confirmed that the photos were taken over the weekend.

The lawmaker has been outspoken about the ongoing crisis since the start of Biden's presidency. He warned earlier this month that the new administration's open-borders policies would ultimately lead to dangerous consequences for both migrants and American communities along the southern border.

"You just can't say, 'Yeah, yeah, let everybody in' — because then we're affected down there at the border," he told Axios in an interview, adding, "The bad guys know how to market this."

Democratic congresswoman: It's not 'appropriate' for media to see inside border facilities



Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez (Calif.) provided cover for the Biden administration on Thursday by arguing that it's not "appropriate" for members of the media to see inside migrant children border facilities operated by the federal government amid the ongoing border crisis.

Media organizations and immigration activists have been trying for weeks to gain access to the facilities to document the conditions under which thousands of migrant children are being held as unprecedented numbers of migrants surge across the U.S.-Mexico border. But the Biden administration has so far denied entry to the media, conveniently citing coronavirus concerns.

The little reporting that has come out about the facilities has been concerning, to say the least, as it describes thousands of children locked up in grim cells, "akin to jails," for longer periods of time than is legally allowed.

Yet, in an interview with CNN on Thursday, Sanchez hypocritically sided with the Biden administration, suggesting it's better that the public not see what's really going on.

"I don't necessarily think that it's appropriate for journalists to be inside centers that are not permanent places for children," she said.

"Children are not placed there permanently," she continued. "They are processed out of those facilities as quickly as possible and as quickly as the facilities will allow."

Now Biden Is Pres, Dem Rep Claims It's Not "Appropriate" For Journalists To Cover Border Facilities youtu.be

In uncharacteristic fashion, the CNN reporter conducting the interview, Poppy Harlow, actually did a good job holding Sanchez's feet to the fire on the issue.

Earlier in the conversation, Harlow pushed back after Sanchez demurred following a question about the the administration's "lack of transparency." Rather than answering, Sanchez, who was visually upset, noted that members of Congress weren't allowed inside similar facilities during the Trump administration.

"But that doesn't mean anything now, respectfully, congresswoman," Harlow shot back. "I mean, clearly you were upset about that lack of transparency. Are you concerned about this lack of transparency?"

Sanchez responded by saying "you can't fault an administration that is doing everything humanly possible to treat these kids in a humane way" given the limitations placed on it by the coronavirus pandemic.

"They are doing the best they can under COVID protocols," she argued. "If it were not a pandemic, I would totally understand the concern."

However, denying media access to the facilities is not the only way that the administration is reportedly suppressing information about the crisis at the souther border. News also broke recently that an unofficial "gag order" has been passed down on Border Patrol agents, restricting them from sharing information with the media.