Exclusive photos reveal children sleeping on the ground at Border Patrol Station



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In a photo, next to a child sleeping outside on the ground, we see a bottle filled with milk, and on another, we see a woman sitting on rocks leaning against a wall that squeezes a child.

In other cases, migrants are apparently wandering around the premises, which has four temporary tents to accommodate the swell of migrants approaching the US – Mexican border. A picture shows an officer holding a megaphone in a sea of ​​migrants outside the station.

The photos came from a source who had access to the facility and who had been disturbed by the conditions of the weekend. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the images came from the McAllen border crossing.

"Nobody, no matter who you are, where you come from should not spend an hour like this.It's the United States of America.Not in our country," said the source, who saw the living conditions.

An official from the Department of Homeland Security, who oversees customs and border protection, reacted to the photos in a statement, stating, "Several DHS officials have been warning the border crisis and the humanitarian crisis for months. continue to worsen, and funding is inadequate for migrant flows. "The official mentioned the request of the administration for additional resources to house migrants and legislative changes to stem the flow of migrants. migrants.

"Again, border patrol officers are doing everything in their power to protect and protect remanded migrants, and border patrol stations are simply not equipped to cope with the number of families and children. 39 children arriving along the southwestern border, and we need Congress to act to provide immediate relief, "said the official.

The White House has asked for an additional $ 4.5 billion this year to fund humanitarian assistance, border operations and additional personnel to deal with the growing number of migrants on the border.
McAllen Station is one of nine stations in the Rio Grande Valley – with a central processing center.
He is also frequently visited by elected officials, including President Donald Trump. During his visit in January, Trump met with border police officers and participated in a roundtable hosted by US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, where he pledged to build a new "safe house". powerful steel dam ".

But the border-wall promised by Trump and aggressive immigration policies have so far provided little respite.

President Donald Trump at the end of his visit to US Border Patrol's McAllen Station in McAllen, Texas, January 10, 2019 (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

In April alone, the Border Patrol arrested 98,977 migrants for illegal entry, including many families – an increase from March. And over the weekend, migrant apprehensions at the southern border have surpassed 500,000 for the fiscal year up to now, already far exceeding the total for the 2018 fiscal year, which about 400,000, according to a border patrol official.

For children, including those who have traveled hundreds of miles to McAllen, the Border Patrol plays a vital role, especially in the coming months, when temperatures in the Rio Grande Valley can reach 100 degrees.

"Frankly, the flow is coming faster than we can handle it"

Border Patrol Stations are designed to accommodate and treat migrants who cross the border illegally. But the resorts have been stressed by overcrowding. When the agents are late for processing, the inner waiting areas fill up, forcing people to wait outside.

On Saturday, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan traveled to McAllen, Texas with Acting Secretary of the Department of Defense Patrick Shanahan to visit the same station. where the pictures were taken. DHS asked the Pentagon for help to remedy the situation at the border.

"Our apprehension figures are out of date compared to recent years," Border Patrol Leader Carla Provost told lawmakers last week. "The number of unaccompanied families and children has exploded to 64% of apprehensions on the southern border."

For months, CBP has been ringing alarm at more families and children crossing the border – a change from previous years, when adult single men made up a large number of children. Apprehensions at the frontier. The overcapacity of the installations led to scenes like those illustrated in the photos.

With the steady flow of migrants, it has become increasingly difficult for CBP to process and transfer migrants quickly enough to make room for new people to stop crossing the border illegally.

"Frankly, the flow is coming faster than we can handle it," a border patrol official told CNN, who asked not to be identified.

Earlier this year, McAleenan, then commissioner of the CBP, said that he was removing 750 officers from "key positions" at the entry points to help the Border Patrol take charge of the particularly with regard to treatment and transport, adding that this change would result in a slowdown in trade and increased expectations for cars and pedestrians crossing legally.

In order to address the pressure on the agents, the border patrol, with the help of immigration and customs services, began sending some migrant families from the Rio Grande Valley to Del Rio, Texas, to be treated. A flight is scheduled every day to bring about 135 people to Del Rio, according to the official. This, in addition to the many busloads of families a day that are brought to Laredo for treatment.

The need for more shelter became evident as facilities reached their maximum capacity. At the end of March, for example, another McAllen site was in overcapacity. The center, designed to accommodate 1,500 people, was filled with 2,200 migrants held at the border. That's almost double the number of people present last summer.

The goal is to get people out of the processing center and other border patrol facilities within 72 hours, but that does not always happen. And in some cases, CBP had to release migrants – a practice that Trump called "capture and release". Since March 19, 40,000 families treated and found not criminals have been released with a date of hearing, a border patrol official told CNN.

McAleenan appeared before lawmakers on the Hill and testified about DHS's limited resources and the need to raise funds to deal with the humanitarian crisis and border security.

DHS asks the military for more help to deal with the influx of migrants

"The new waves of vulnerable populations arriving here are exacerbating the already urgent humanitarian security crisis at the border," McAleenan told a House credit sub-committee last month. "We do not have the opportunity to retain them, we do not have the power to withdraw them in a fair and expeditious manner, and we are not likely – and they will probably not be allowed to stay in the country at all. the end of their stay. " immigration procedure. The status quo is not acceptable. "

The $ 4.5 billion funding request is one of many actions undertaken simultaneously to address the country's border situation and immigration system in general. The White House's senior advisor, Jared Kushner, is working on a plan to reform the US immigration system. It is expected that he will inform Republican senators at their Tuesday lunch. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is due to unveil on Wednesday a bill proposing changes to the asylum procedure.

It is certain that each of these actions will raise objections from the Democrats – who in some cases have already denounced the request for additional funds, thereby blaming the administration's immigration policies – leaving the White House and the hill in a stalemate so the number of apprehensions continues to increase.

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