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Tuesday, March 23, 2021

 

Arrested children: see the first photos of detention centers for immigrant minors under the Biden government

Migrants at the US Customs and Border Protection Temporary Processing Center in Donna, Texas, March 22, 2021

CREDIT,REUTERS

Photo caption,

After criticism of Trump, images recorded in the Biden government have raised concern about conditions at detention facilities on the U.S.-Mexico border

US President Joe Biden's government has said it will create additional facilities for immigrants following the release of images of a Texas detention center with children huddled in makeshift, crowded rooms.

The photos revealed the climate behind the walls of a center that is home to 1,000 immigrants in Texas. The place is part of a government-run network of shelters in the city of Donna, on the U.S. border with Mexico.

The photos are the first to show conditions within such facilities since Biden took office.

Critics blame Biden for the increase in illegal migration to the United States. Since taking office in January, the new president has removed some of the restrictions for entering the U.S., introduced by his predecessor, Donald Trump.

On Monday (22/03), White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US government is working to provide more accommodation for those arriving "in the coming days and weeks".

"Places where children can have access to health care, educational resources - even legal resources," she said.

His comments came after photos of children at the Donna facility were released by Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, also on Monday (22/03).

Migrants at the US Customs and Border Protection Temporary Processing Center in Donna, Texas, March 22, 2021

CREDIT,REUTERS

Photo caption,

Young migrants at the facility are kept in crowded areas separated by plastic sheeting

The photos, which were reportedly taken over the weekend, also raised concerns about a possible lack of social detachment during the coronavirus pandemic.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that people stay 2 meters away from each other to help prevent the spread of coronavirus infections.

Cuellar said those housed in the center were divided into eight overcrowded plastic "rooms".

Activists also say that people staying at the site do not have adequate access to soap or food.

Migrants at the US Customs and Border Protection Temporary Processing Center in Donna, Texas, March 22, 2021

CREDIT,REUTERS

Photo caption,

People are seen separated by plastic sheeting in makeshift rooms

"These photos show what we said a long time ago, that these border facilities are not places made for children," said Psaki. "They are not places where we want children to stay for a long period of time."

She said the alternative was to send the children back "on this treacherous journey - this is not, in our opinion, the right choice to make".

Journalists have not been allowed to enter detention centers since Biden took office, although the White House said they could do so.

Lawyers representing the children and lawmakers who visited the facility describe them as overcrowded.

Migrants at the US Customs and Border Protection Temporary Processing Center in the city of Donna

CREDIT,REUTERS

Photo caption,

The number of unaccompanied minors at the border has increased dramatically in recent months

The number of unaccompanied minors at the border has increased sharply in recent months.

The US government has said it wants to work with Mexico and Guatemala to address the root causes of the problem, which include widespread poverty and violence in Central America.

The White House Press Secretary said there was a particular concern about the growing number of unaccompanied children crossing the US border and that their well-being is a priority.

"Children who present themselves on our border who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing persecution, who are fleeing terrible situations. This is not a crisis," she said.

"We feel that it is our responsibility to approach this situation with humanity and ensure that they are treated (...) and placed in safe conditions."

The government-run tent city in Donna, on the border of the United States and Mexico

CREDIT,REUTERS

Photo caption,

The government-run tent city in Donna, on the U.S. border with Mexico, is reportedly housing a thousand people

There has been a large influx of arrivals to the southern U.S. border since Biden took office, including hundreds of unaccompanied children who are trapped in US immigrant detention centers.

Since January, the president has ordered the reunification of migrant children with their families, completed the construction of the Trump border wall and called for a review of the legal immigration programs ended by the former president.

While in office, Trump faced criticism about conditions at the border facilities with children. Some Trump-era facilities - now renovated and updated - are being used again.

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