White House allows press into HHS immigration center, but not a single highlighted by members of Congress for overcrowded conditions

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The Carrizo Springs, Texas facility is one example of the types of shelters the administration is working to find to accommodate children. These facilities, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, are equipped to provide medical services, sleeping quarters and other supports.

But amid the constraints of Covid-19, there has not been enough shelter space to accommodate the growing number of arrivals, causing children to remain in border patrol facilities, similar to conditions in prison, for long periods. The Carrizo Springs facility is very different from the border patrol location seen in footage released by a congressman highlighting overcrowded conditions.

The Biden administration has yet to leave surveillance cameras inside U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities where children have been detained, on average, longer than the 72 hours allowed by the law, though CBP released government footage of one of those establishments earlier this week.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that the administration would also give media access to these border patrol facilities.

“This is only the first step in the process of providing better access to the media,” Psaki told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny during a White House briefing.

“We all agree that border patrol facilities are not places where kids should be. They are, kids should move faster in these facilities, that’s what our main policy is. currently, ”Psaki said.

The Carrizo Springs facility was initially opened under the Trump administration in 2019 to accommodate a wave of unaccompanied minors crossing the border. It is intended to house minors, unlike the border patrol facilities.

The facility is available for children ages 13 to 17, according to HHS. Since its opening, 1,026 children have been placed in the shelter and 216 children have been released, the department said. There are currently 766 minors on the site. The capacity is 952.

According to a network journalist accompanying the delegation, 108 of the children at this establishment tested positive for Covid-19 and did so upon arrival. They are kept in negative air pressure dormitories and released after undergoing two negative Covid tests.

Two major factors make matters worse at the border. But they don't attract much attention

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently led a bipartisan delegation of senators to El Paso, Texas, to tour the facilities and journalists were not allowed to accompany them. The Department of Homeland Security said the trip was closed to reporters due to confidentiality and Covid-19 precautions.

The Biden administration is working to deal with an increase in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the US-Mexico border that has overwhelmed and depleted government resources.

As of Tuesday, more than 880 unaccompanied migrant children have been held by border patrol for more than 10 days, according to documents reviewed by CNN.

Federal law requires unaccompanied children to be turned over within 72 hours to HHS, which oversees a network of shelters designed to house minors, but amid pandemic stresses, children remain in detention longer than the 72 hour limit.

Senior officials in the Biden administration visited Mexico on Monday to discuss migration management with government officials.

Roberta Jacobson, Biden Administration Coordinator for the Southern Border, Juan Gonzalez, Senior National Security Council Director for the Western Hemisphere, and State Department Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle, Ricardo Zúñiga , are traveling. Gonzalez and Zúñiga are also traveling to Guatemala to hold meetings after the trip to Mexico.

This story has been updated with details of the visit.

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