See It: First Photo Inside Migrant Detention Center Released
The first image inside of one of the Biden administration’s cramped migrant detention centers has been released, and it shows a mother and two children who apparently crossed the border illegally following the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Fox News shared the photo, which the outlet reported was taken on March 8 at the El Paso Service Processing Center in Texas.
First photo inside El Paso migrant center obtained by Fox News, as southern border situation intensifieshttps://t.co/llJ898pXRX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 20, 2021
The photo was obtained and shared by Fox, despite U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents being told not to allow reporters inside of such facilities.
Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez of California, for one, argued on Friday that media coverage of the child migrant camps amid the ongoing border crisis would be “inappropriate.”
“I don’t necessarily think that it’s appropriate for journalists to be inside centers that are not permanent places for children,” Sanchez told CNN on Thursday, with regard to the Biden administration’s lack of transparency over the issue of child migrant detentions, according to a transcript from Grabien.
The El Paso Service Processing Center, where the image shared by Fox was taken, has experienced a 96 percent increase in the number of unaccompanied children it holds when compared to this time last year, CBP chief for the El Paso sector Gloria Chavez told Fox News.
Chavez said encounters with illegal immigrants are way up in the area.
“Currently, we are experiencing a high number of encounters in the West Texas/New Mexico region. These encounters include families and unaccompanied children,” Chavez said. “The highest population for the El Paso Sector is unaccompanied children with a 96% increase compared to February [2020].”
Chavez added that the spike in border crossings and detainments is putting a strain on resources and capacity.
“The recent surge of unaccompanied children in addition to family units is beginning to impact our capacity,” Chavez told Fox. “We are working closely with Health and Human Services [HHS]/Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) for the placement of children as CBP’s ability to move children out of its care is directly tied to available space at HHS ORR.”
Fox reported that in February last year, there were 30,077 people apprehended at the border. This February, that number skyrocketed to 100,441.
Detainments of illegal border-crossers have increased every month since April 2020, when it became clear Biden would become the eventual Democratic presidential nominee.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas toured the El Paso facility on Friday, along with a group of bipartisan lawmakers. Mayorkas did not speak to the media.
The DHS head did state this past week that children who cross the border illegally will not be sent back to their home countries.
“Some loving parents might send their child to traverse Mexico alone to reach the southern border, our southern border. I hope they don’t undertake that perilous journey, but if they do, we will not expel that young child,” Mayorkas told CBS News.
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