Ted Cruz posts video of his attempt to film the border installation

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted video on Saturday of his attempt to film an immigration center in Donna, Texas, while alleging that President Joe Biden’s administration is preventing Americans from seeing what is going on at the southern border.

“How far is Joe Biden going to prevent Americans from seeing inside the Donna CBP facility?” Cruz tweeted on Saturday before alleging that “Biden sent a DC political agent to block our cameras and even threatened another senator to obstruct legitimate control of Congress.”

How far will Joe Biden prevent Americans from seeing inside Donna CBP’s facilities?

Biden sent a DC political agent to block our cameras and even threatened another senator to obstruct legitimate control of Congress. pic.twitter.com/vHT2U7Nh1z

– Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 28, 2021

In the video, Cruz claims that a woman who works for the Biden administration has been instructed to ask politicians visiting the border not to take any photos inside immigration facilities.

“You have been instructed to ask us not to take pictures here, because DHS political leaders [Department of Homeland Security] doesn’t want Americans to know that, “Cruz says in the video.” You don’t want the photos taken. The rules are arbitrary and are designed to keep the American people in the dark ”.

Meanwhile, the woman in the video can be seen positioning herself in front of Cruz’s camera while asking him to “please be respectful” of the immigrants inside the facility where he is recording.

“Please play by the rules, sir, and give people dignity and respect,” the woman said. “With all my heart, I ask you, please respect people. This is not a zoo, sir, please do not treat people as such.”

Cruz then goes on to declare that the establishment is a “dangerous” place and accuses the Biden administration of concealing the conditions to which immigrants are subjected.

Cruz’s video comes after he and several other lawmakers visited immigration facilities on the southern border this week. On Saturday, Cruz also tweeted a Friday interview with Fox News in which he said the conditions at the border are the “worst” he has ever seen, and alleges children are being caged.

Due to President Biden’s policy, the situation at the border is the worst I have ever seen.

The facility in Donna, Texas has a 1,500% capacity and the children are locked in side-by-side cages. pic.twitter.com/yrDOwV3yxd

– Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 28, 2021

“We went to visit Biden’s cages, you know, for four years we heard Democrats and the media talk about kids in cages under President Trump,” he said in the interview. “Joe Biden has built more cages, the cages are bigger and they are fuller.”

Cruz also alleged that Donna’s facility is now operating at 1500% capacity, where children are packed together and are at high risk of contracting COVID-19.

“It’s inhuman, it’s unacceptable, and it’s a direct result of the political decisions Joe Biden made,” Cruz told Fox News.

The Texas Republican has been one of the fiercest critics of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration policies.

Biden, who has vowed to take a more humanitarian approach to immigration by overturning sweeping policies of former President Donald Trump, has faced mounting criticism from the GOP as the number of migrants entering the country now soars .

All in all, the country is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southern border in the past 20 years, with increasing numbers of unaccompanied children crossing.

According to figures from CBP, the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border increased by 63% in February compared to the previous month. The agency reported 9,297 unaccompanied minor arrivals last month.

Leaked photos and videos have shown that facilities along the border are overcrowded and ill-prepared to handle the influx of migrants. The Biden administration has also been criticized for not allowing members of the press to see inside the facilities.

“I will commit to transparency, and as soon as I am able to implement what we are currently doing,” Biden told reporters at the White House this week, without providing a timeline for when that might be. .

On Thursday, 21 House Republicans led by Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote a letter accusing Biden of failing to provide transparency at the border.

“Since your administration refuses to publicly acknowledge the crisis at odds with demonstrable facts, denying access to journalists can only be seen as a cowardly effort to prevent the public from fully realizing how much this administration’s policies have created chaos, lawlessness and human suffering along our southern border, ”the letter said.

But during a press briefing Thursday, Biden denied claims his immigration strategy was behind the surge, and instead insisted his policies would not allow children to starve to death. at the border.

The president also added that the current surge in border arrivals is not without precedent. He said he saw a 28% increase in the number of children at the border under his administration, up from 31% in 2019 under Trump.

“I would like to think it’s because I’m a nice guy, but it’s not. It’s because of what happens every year,” said the president, before declaring that ” Nothing has changed”.

Newsweek contacted Cruz and the White House for further comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.