NYC migrant facility offers big-screen TVs, video game systems, Wi-Fi, popcorn machines, foosball, laundry service, 24-hour snacks, 'culturally appropriate' cuisine: 'A place people can come, rest, relax, and kick their feet up'



New York City officials unveiled the welcoming living conditions at the new migrant facility designated for single adult males. The amenities at the illegal immigrant camp include big-screen TVs, Xbox gaming systems, laundry service, 24-hour snacks, and "culturally appropriate" cuisine.

To deal with the busing of migrants, New York City has opened a migrant tent city on Randall's Island. The tent city can accommodate 500 migrants, but can be expanded to have 1,000 beds.

The facility is intended to house migrants temporarily – between 24 to 96 hours. However, there is no limit as to how long the men can stay at the center.

“Our focus is to get you where you want to go and not put a numerical limit in terms of number of hours to restrict anything,” said Dr. Ted Long, a senior vice president at NYC Health + Hospitals.

\u201cWATCH: After declaring a state of emergency, NYC unveils shelter for 'single adult men' illegal migrants with couches, TVs, Xboxes & 24/7 food & drink\n\n"The meals are all culturally appropriate\u2014it is South American fare," Emergency Mgmt Commissioner Zach Iscol said. \n\n\ud83d\udcfd\ufe0f: @fox5ny\u201d
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) 1666240757

The migrant city boasts a long list of amenities for the tenants.

There are couches and coffee tables situated in front of big-screen TVs with cable and the latest Xbox video game console. The New York Post reported that there is a recreation room with two popcorn machines, ping-pong tables, foosball tables, and board games.

Illegal immigrants also have access to free Wi-Fi, a bank of 12 phones that can be used to make international calls, and laundry service.

There are coffee and tea stations available around the clock, as well as 24-hour snacks.

The facility provides 60 dining tables. Meals will be cooked on-site in the fully equipped commercial kitchen.

"Those meals are all culturally appropriate. It is South American fare," said New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol during a press conference. "The menu rotates on a regular basis."

Iscol added, "This is a place people can come, rest, relax, and kick their feet up after the journey they have been on."

The migrant facility will have 24/7 security and a 10 p.m. curfew for tenants.

Originally, the migrant facility was to be built in the Orchard Beach parking lot in the Bronx. Despite construction of the tent city in the Bronx being nearly completed, New York City officials decided to scrap the idea after heavy rains flooded the area. The migrant facility was relocated to the parking lot of Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.

Iscol admitted that the relocation was a pricey mistake.

"It cost about $325,000 to demobilize from Orchard Beach and another $325,000 to set up this facility," Iscol said on Tuesday.

However, Iscol did not reveal the total cost of the illegal immigrant facility for single men.

"The rest of the costs we’re still analyzing — we don’t know how many people we will be caring for and a lot of the costs are variable, so many of those ongoing costs we’re now figuring out," he said.

The New York Post reported last month that the Bronx tent city would cost the city $15 million per month to operate.

In addition to the tent city, the New York City government is housing 200 families at the Row Hotel – a 4-star hotel in midtown Manhattan.

According to online travel booking websites, nightly rates at Manhattan's Row Hotel start at $116 and go all the way up to $539 per night.

Since the spring, more than 18,000 migrants have been bused into New York City from southern border states. Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency because of the influx of illegal immigrants.

New York Erects Tent City To House Migrants www.youtube.com

Texas Democrat leaks new photos of children being held at packed migrant facility: 'We're feeling the brunt'



New photos have been released that show dozens of children who are packed into migrant facilities at the U.S. southern border. The eye-opening photos were shared by Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar from Texas, who said that the unaccompanied minors were detained by Border Patrol for "far longer" than the 72-hour legal time limit. After 72 hours, minors are supposed to be transferred to a Health and Human Services facility.

Cuellar appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, where he revealed the packed conditions at migrant facilities. Minors are seen from wall-to-wall with no space for social distancing, and laying on the floor with mylar blankets.

The Democratic congressman said there are "groups of over a hundred individuals coming in into the Border Patrol custody" every single day. He said that it is "nearly impossible to reduce the numbers of people at the detention facilities" when there are hundreds of people illegally crossing over the U.S. border every day.

Cuellar said unaccompanied children are being moved into migrant facilities, but "at first the priority was given to young boys."

"For example, Carrizo Springs has young boys from 13 to 17," Cuellar told host Margaret Brennan. "San Diego is going to be now taking 500 of the young girls— or have taken that."

The Texas representative noted, "Out of the 5,000 plus that they have at the Rio Grande, about 65% are unaccompanied kids."

Cuellar said family units are being released into the U.S., which has caused a "burden" on the border communities. "The cities, the counties, the NGOs," he said. "We're feeling the brunt of what's happening with the family units."

Cuellar admitted that he gets more information about the current border crisis from Mexico than the Biden administration, and hasn't been in contact with Vice President Kamala Harris since November despite her being appointed to take the lead on the migrant surge.

NEW: While journalists' access to migrant facilities continue to be limited, @RepCuellar shares exclusive photos wi… https://t.co/9A1CG67Ykz
— Face The Nation (@Face The Nation)1616943909.0

Last week, Cuellar shared photos taken inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary surge facility in Donna, Texas. Conditions inside the migrant facilities have been described as "grim," cage-like, and "akin to jails."

https://t.co/jjwutZ9Uty
— Ian Miles Cheong (@Ian Miles Cheong)1616410741.0

Last week, 18 Republican senators went down to the border to examine the immigration crisis. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) claimed that they were blocked by officials from taking photos and videos of the conditions at the migrant facility in Donna, Texas. Cruz released a video of the confrontation with a woman who wouldn't let him record a video inside the migrant facility.

Gov. Abbott slams Biden for 'failure' at minors facilities. DHS reportedly considers flying migrants to states near Canadian border.



The Biden administration is currently considering flying migrants to states near the Canadian border, according to the Washington Post.

Citing two unnamed Department of Homeland Security officials and an email, the report states, "A new spike in the number of families and children crossing the Rio Grande into South Texas over the past several hours is forcing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to request airplanes that will allow the Biden administration to transport migrants to states near the Canadian border for processing."

Friday afternoon's report of relocating migrants from the southern border to the northern border comes at the same time that the Biden administration is being slammed for "unsafe" minor migrant facilities. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a scathing statement blasting the Biden administration for its "abject failure" in handling the immigration crisis, especially with migrant children.

"The Biden Administration has been an abject failure when it comes to ensuring the safety of unaccompanied minors who cross our border," Abbott said in Friday's statement. "The conditions unaccompanied minors face in these federally run facilities is unacceptable and inhumane."

Abbott revealed that the water is unsafe at the federally-run unaccompanied minor migrant facility in Midland, Texas. Abbott said, "The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality has notified the Midland facility of their need to address the serious water issues."

Abbott also noted that there has been a COVID-19 outbreak at the Carrizo Springs facility. Abbott deployed the Texas Department of State Health Services resources and personnel to the facility, which houses minors ages 13-17.

"The Biden Administration has no excuse for subjecting these children to these kinds of conditions," Abbott's statement reads. "President Biden's refusal to address the border crisis is not only enabling criminal actors like human traffickers and smugglers, but it is exposing innocent unaccompanied children to illness and potentially unsafe living conditions. The administration must act now to keep these children safe, secure our border, and end this humanitarian crisis."

"The Biden Admin. has turned a humanitarian crisis into a complete disaster," Abbott tweeted. "They were unprepared for open border policies."

During an appearance on Fox News, Abbott said the massive surge of children coming to the U.S. border is a hotbed for human trafficking.

"I made a direct plea to the Biden administration a couple of days ago for Texas and our professionals in this state that deal with human trafficking all the time to have access to these minors who have come across the border to learn more about how they were trafficked here, and then we received word yesterday from the Biden administration that they would allow no such thing because they want to continue the cover-up," Abbott said on Friday. "This is a crisis that is being made worse by the fact that the Biden administration is subjecting even more children to come into Texas or coming across our border who are going to be victimized by these cartels."

Abbott added that the overflow of migrants from Central and South America are bringing variants of COVID-19.

"Now the Biden administration is importing more COVID into the U.S that they could be keeping them out if they were securing the border," the Republican governor of Texas said.

We work every day with our Child Sex Trafficking Team & other agencies to crack down on human trafficking in TX.… https://t.co/4MM58KMqmo
— Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott)1616177295.0

A report from earlier this month found that one migrant facility was at 729% capacity, and there were allegedly children taking turns sleeping on floors and only allowed showers once a week.

A recent New York Times report found that families were being separated, and children were being detained in facilities "akin to jail."

A Washington Post report revealed that "the new administration was holding record numbers of unaccompanied migrant teens and children in detention cells for far longer than legally allowed and federal health officials fell further behind in their race to find space for them in shelters."

Border crisis: Migrant facility at 729% capacity, children take turns sleeping on the floor, no showers for days



The border crisis worsens as a new report sheds light on the conditions at an overflowing migrant facility on the U.S. southern border. Minors haven't seen the sunlight in days, have only had one shower in a week, and have to take turns sleeping on the floor because of overcrowding, according to lawyers who spoke to children at a detainment center.

Neha Desai, a lawyer for the National Center for Youth Law, interviewed children being detained at the Customs and Border Protection holding facility in Donna, Texas. As of March 2, there were more than 1,800 people being detained at the facility, which is 729% of its capacity during the pandemic. The Donna facility opened last month and has been operating over its pandemic capacity for weeks.

"Some of the boys said that conditions were so overcrowded that they had to take turns sleeping on the floor," Desai told CBS News.

"They all said they wanted to shower more and were told they couldn't," Desai said, adding that several minors were only permitted to shower once in seven days.

"One of them shared that he could only see the sun when he showered, because you can see the sun through the window," Desai said. She said many children did not have access to outside activities and were visibly emotional.

Children had been denied phone calls to communicate with family members. "They were hysterically crying, wanting to talk to their family," she said.

Leecia Welch, a senior director and lawyer at the National Center for Youth Law, spoke to about a dozen children at the Donna facility.

"Donna is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis," Welch told CNN. "We understand the administration inherited this disaster, but I cannot stress enough how urgent the situation is with the growing number of young unaccompanied children. We spoke to numerous distraught children who don't understand why they can't talk to their parents, see their siblings at Donna, or get some fresh air."

The Washington Post reported this week, "The magnitude came into clearer focus Wednesday as the new administration was holding record numbers of unaccompanied migrant teens and children in detention cells for far longer than legally allowed and federal health officials fell further behind in their race to find space for them in shelters."

Last week, the New York Times reported that migrant facilities were "akin to jails."

CNN reported that the record-high "number of unaccompanied migrant children in Border Patrol custody continues to climb, reaching more than 3,700 on Wednesday, many of them in jail-like facilities along the US-Mexico border."

An Axios report found that February had the highest number in the history of the Unaccompanied Alien Child program. There were nearly 9,500 unaccompanied children who were taken into custody in February, a 21-month high.

Border officials expect the number of unaccompanied minors to surge to 13,000 children in May, which would be the most of the border crisis. The massive influx of illegal immigrants is believed to stem from President Joe Biden's lax border and immigration policies.

"DHS has continued our close coordination with HHS as it increases its capacity to care for unaccompanied minors and place them with sponsors," a CBP spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. "Our goal is to ensure that CBP has the continued capability to quickly and efficiently transfer unaccompanied minors after they are apprehended to HHS custody, as is required by U.S. law, and as is clearly in the best interest of the children."

"Addressing the flow of unaccompanied children crossing our southwest border is an important priority of this Administration and DHS," the CBP spokesperson added. "It requires a whole of government coordinated and sustained response."

After being overwhelmed by the surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security is recruiting volunteers from the agency to assist in the border crisis.

"Today, I activated the Volunteer Force to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they face a surge in migration along the Southwest Border," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly said in an email to DHS staff.

The Biden administration has publicly denied that there is a crisis at the border.