It was leaked photos from the U.S. Border Patrol processing centers in the Rio Grande Valley that gave much of the American public an idea of the scope of the country’s current immigration problem, with unaccompanied minors pouring over the border into the U.S.A. by the tens of thousands.
The Department of Homeland Security began busing illegals from the overwhelmed and overcrowded facilities in Texas to Arizona. As Katie Pavlich reported, media were banned from touring the Nogales Border Patrol Processing Center, where thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America were sleeping in chain-linked cells.
In a reversal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), media will be allowed into the Nogales processing center. Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake issued a statement today:
This would be welcome news, because it is obviously in the public’s interest to know the actual conditions in that facility, which is currently holding a large number of unaccompanied children who illegally crossed our southern border into the United States in recent weeks. We strongly urge CBP to be transparent and accommodate all reasonable requests for media access to the facility, while ensuring the privacy and safety of the individuals being held there.
DHS is giving a tour of Nogales facility where immigrant children are held. But reporters not allowed to ask questions. Ummmm.
— Astrid Galván (@astridgalvan) June 17, 2014
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