A growing chorus of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for the Biden Administration allowing journalists and journalists to enter facilities that house unaccompanied migrant children who have sought asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The call for greater transparency with the American public and those who cover it comes when the US faces a growing humanitarian crisis on the southwestern border, driven by the economic devastation of Central America. climate change, gang violence and political persecution, as well as a new presidential administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas predicts the United States is about to encounter more migrants on the southwestern border than in 20 years. Amid the continued growth of the steps, President Biden said Sunday that “at some point” he will go to the border.
Senator Rob Portman, a prominent member of the Senate National Security and Government Affairs Committee and one of four senators who accompanied Mayorkas to the border on Friday, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he will “absolutely” push the opening of Custom and Border Protection Facilities (CBP) to journalists amid calls for transparency.
“That should be transparent,” Portman said. “It’s amazing to me how little my constituents know about what’s going on along the border. It’s a situation that’s out of control.”
Senator Chris Murphy, chair of the Senate Learning Subcommittee on National Security, also participated in the trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. The Democratic lawmaker told NPR on Saturday that opening up access to media coverage is “something we should all pressure the administration to do better.”
“We want to make sure the press has access to hold the administration accountable,” he said. “That’s why I was there, to hold them accountable. And they’ve seen an increase that began last year, that began under the Trump administration, but it’s real. It’s pushing their resources.” .
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As of Saturday morning, more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors remained in a CBP store in South Texas and other stations along the border with Mexico. According to government records, unaccompanied children spend an average of 136 hours in CBP custody, well beyond the legal 72-hour limit.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also housed about 10,500 unaccompanied children in state-sponsored emergency housing facilities and shelters to care for minors, according to department spokesman Mark Weber.
Another travel lawmaker, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican top national security subcommittee on Senate supplies, told the Washington Post Saturday that more than 200 border agents have been diverted to a customs processing center and border protection in El Paso for child care.
According to Capito, up to 100 migrant children were detained in a large facility room amid the coronavirus pandemic, and many are being held in CBP custody beyond the legal 72-hour limit before being transferred to custody. HHS. Capito expressed concern about the overcrowding at CBP’s facilities, noting: “50 people will be moved at night [and] let another 100 come that night. “
The Republican senator also told The Washington Post that she reinforced the DHS secretary that journalists should be allowed to enter border facilities. “I begged him to have so much transparency with us … but also with the press,” Capito said.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Mayorkas cited privacy and health issues as he let reporters enter the facility. “Make it clear, we are in the middle of the pandemic. We are talking about a crowded border patrol station where we are focused on operations,” Mayorkas said.
“At the same time, and let me assure you, we’re working on a plan to provide access so people can see what’s going on. at the border patrol stations, “the DHS secretary continued.” I also encourage people to see the facilities of the Department of Health and Human Services where children are protected and where they belong and where we move them. “
The delegation’s trip to the border on Friday remained closed to pressure “due to the privacy and precautions of COVID-19,” according to the DHS statement.
A Biden administration official said Thursday that DHS made an “operational decision” in March 2020 “to discourage visitors” due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and that the rule “remains in effect.”
Journalists were allowed to enter government facilities to inspect conditions and talk to asylum seekers during migrant surges, including the Trump administrations in 2018 and the Obama administrations in 2014.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that the Biden administration did not have a timeline for when the public could see conditions at the border facilities amid repeated questions in the room White House information.
“We remain committed to sharing with all of you data on the number of children crossing the border, the steps we take, the work we do to open facilities, our own bar we set up, improving the and streamlining the timeline and treatment of these children, ”Psaki said, leaving more questions for the Department of Homeland Security. “And we’re still committed to transparency. I don’t have any updates on access history, but it’s certainly something we support.”
In addition to access to the media, the Biden administration has not provided photos or videos documenting the interior of crowded government facilities housing migrant children in the midst of the COVID-19 public emergency.
But the Biden administration, including National Security officials, has repeatedly promised to expand transparency and access to the department’s operations since before the president’s inauguration. In his confirmation hearing before the Senate National Security and Government Affairs Committee on Jan. 19, Mayorkas vowed to “raise the level of public engagement, so that we are a transparent, transparent agency not just for the public we serve, but also for the media whose responsibility is partly to hold us accountable. “
Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.