Opinion | Border Patrol Must Stop Holding People in Inhumane Conditions

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : In late June 2021, we joined a brief official tour of the Anzalduas TOPS, during which Border Patrol representatives described the site as being used exclusively to hold families with children under 7 years old.
54% : We wanted to know how long people were being held outdoors and how Border Patrol was ensuring the safety of those in custody.
54% : Border Patrol said on our tour in June that families were held on the site for six to eight hours before being released to local shelters.
51% : Border Patrol began holding migrants at this outdoor site buried deep on federal property and out of public view on Jan. 23, 2021.
46% : At a meeting in May, a Border Patrol representative justified holding families in the South Texas summer heat by egregiously claiming that the conditions are preferable to many migrants, who Border Patrol described as "not used to air conditioning."
44% : This is unfortunately not the first time we have witnessed Border Patrol hold migrants in wholly inhumane conditions outdoors.
43% : But children have died in Border Patrol custody.
43% : Border Patrol told us there is no medical staff on site beyond emergency medical personnel, and the nearest paved road to get to medical aid is a five to 10 minute drive away.
43% : Border Patrol has demonstrated that it simply cannot hold people in appropriate conditions at this site.
40% : Border Patrol has even given us conflicting answers about what, if any, detention standards apply to the site.
39% : The administration should also take steps to remove Border Patrol from the detention business altogether.
38% : Mothers shared that Border Patrol denied their pleas for medical care for sick children and that they experienced miserable conditions in high temperatures.
23% : That's why we're calling on the Biden administration to immediately close the site and implement oversight measures to ensure Border Patrol no longer holds anyone under such inhumane conditions.

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