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But human rights advocates say some children and families that US Customs and Border Protection have detained for days in the confined space have been shaken once handed over. freedom.
Bruises were visible on toddlers and older children who had to rest on rocks and concrete, said Taylor Levy, legal coordinator at Annunciation House.
The El Paso-based shelter is a frequent place of passage for liberated migrants in government custody. The migrants who had been detained under the bridge told their staff that they had been detained for three to five days and that they had been treated worse than dogs, Levy said.
"It was horrible there, because we slept under the bridge over the gravel," said Bartolo Tadeo Gómez, 25, who spent four nights under the bridge with his 7-year-old son. "There was a lot of dust."
They had trouble staying warm without blankets, he said. And all the time, said Tadeo, he was worried about his son, who seemed sick and did not eat.
"I was afraid he'd die," Tadeo told CNN.
Last week, US authorities said that a rapid influx of migrants crossing the border had forced them to use the space under the Paso del Norte border bridge as a measure of urgency in the face of a humanitarian crisis. They described a tent installed under the bridge as a "transitional shelter" for migrants who had not yet been treated.
CBP officials say that caring for people in detention with dignity and respect is a primary concern.
The lawyers accuse CBP officials of worsening the humanitarian crisis at the border, rather than helping it.
The decision also drew strong criticism from the leader of the Border Patrol Union, who described it as "totally false".
Here is an overview of the latest developments:
The ACLU asks for an investigation
The ACLU filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security and CBP officials over the weekend, calling the DHS Inspector General to investigate what had happened and why .
"The detention of migrants for several nights in open detention pens is an extreme and unprecedented violation," the complaint said. "Although CBP has long violated the rights of migrants in its custody, the agency's decision to detain migrants, including children, in outdoor spaces covered with caged dirt is escalating the cruelty of this administration, without immediate attention the lives of those who seek refuge in our country ".
Other advocacy groups have raised concerns.
On Sunday, Levy tweeted a photo that, she says, showed the chapped hands of a 5-year-old child.
Asked about the ACLU's complaint and allegations of bruised children, a spokesman for CBP said the agency was doing everything possible to deal with a humanitarian crisis that only Congress can solve.
"The care of those in our care is paramount," said Andrew Meehan, CBP's Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, in a statement. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Customs and Border Protection (USP), and the US Border Patrol (USBP) are dedicated to the smooth processing and treatment of people in our custody. "
For days, CBP officials defended the decision to keep migrants under the bridge.
In a statement issued to KFOX, a subsidiary of CNN El Paso, Border Patrol said:
"The tent installed under the port of entry of Paso Del Norte and adjacent to the border patrol processing center is a temporary shelter.Because of the large number of arrests in the area of responsibility of the station In El Paso, the agency has taken additional measures When illegal aliens arrive at the treatment facility, they are placed in the "tent" in order to wait for their turn to be processed .This tent serves only transitional shelter and is not a temporary accommodation facility last month. "
The leader of the border patrol union said the practice was "totally wrong"
President of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, said the decision to detain migrants under the bridge under the bridge was "downright bad".
"After what happened in Jakelin, you would have thought it would never have happened again," he told CNN. "You can not do that in my opinion."
"It's one thing to have too many people inside, which is already quite serious," he continued, "but outside, in bad weather , in my opinion, it's just wrong. "
Jakelin died in December of a bacterial infection known as streptococcal sepsis two days after being held with her father. The lawyers raised questions about his care. The CPB said that the agents and emergency responders "were doing everything in their power" to treat the young Guatemalan before his hospitalization.
Where are the migrants now?
According to Annunciation House, some migrants have been released and are starting to share their stories.
On Sunday, a CBP official told CNN that migrants held under the bridge were being moved to another location.
CBP has decided to move to another location with more space and more shelter due to the growing number of apprehended migrants in the area, the official said. .
The ACLU suggested that other factors may have prompted officials to take action.
According to officials, the organization reportedly decided to move the migrants away from the open detention area before the Congress visit to El Paso.
Kevin Conlon from CNN reported on El Paso. Report by Catherine E. Shoichet and Geneva Sands on CNN from Washington. CNN's Jeremy Grisham contributed to this report.
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