CBP shuts down warehouse where undocumented immigrants, including children, where locked up in cages under Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced the temporary closing of a controversial warehouse that was converted into a detention facility where undocumented immigrants where held inside in cages during the height of President Donald Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy on migrants crossing the border.
The facility, located in McAllen, Texas, came under fire after in 2018 when images emerged of children separated from their parents detained in chain-link cages inside.
CBP said in a statement Wednesday that the facility, known as the central processing center, will reopen in 2022 with a smaller capacity and 'modern detention areas.'
The upgraded facility will also have a recreation area for children. The renovation was first reported by The Washington Post.
Undocumented immigrants held at a McAllen, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection warehouse turned into a holding facility are escorted from a chain-linked cage
The South Texas facility came under fire in 2018 when the Trump administration cracked down on crossings at the Mexico-United States border
U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Vally Sector spokesman, Tim Gresback, told The Post that the agency would reduce the capacity from 1,500 to 1,000.
'The new design will allow for updated accommodations, which will greatly improve the operating efficiency of the center as well as the welfare of individuals being processed,' Gresback said.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBP placed migrant families and children who detained along the Rio Grande Valley at the McAllen warehouse.
Per immigration policies, their personal and biometric information was recorded in United States databases. The migrants would stay several days at the facility before they were taken to other facilities where they would be kept longer, deported to Mexico or released and allowed to remain in the United States while their immigration status played out.
A view of inside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facility shows children at Rio Grande Valley Centralized Processing Center in Rio Grande City, Texas, on June 17, 2018
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday the temporary closing of a South Texas warehouse where undocumented immigrants, including children separated from their parents, were kept
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official leads the press on a tour of a McAllen, Texas, warehouse that was converted in 2014 into a holding facility during the administraiton of President Barack Obama
Opened in 2014 during the administration of President Barack Obama, the South Texas center was first used to hold immigrant children mostly from Central America who were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone.
The Trump administration used the facility to hold parents and children it separated during its 2018 enforcement of a 'zero tolerance' policy on crossings.
Adults and children detained by the Border Patrol generally sleep on mats and are issued Mylar blankets.
The Border Patrol said it is using funds from Congress to renovate the facility. If border crossings surge again, the agency said it 'consistently reevaluates future operational requirements to support the safe and legal processing' of immigrants.
The agency has several stations in South Texas that can hold immigrants. It has designated its station in Weslaco, Texas, to hold children.
About 65 children, some unaccompanied and others with their parents, were detained at Weslaco last week, with advocates for immigrants warning that the detention conditions left them particularly exposed to COVID-19.
Data released by CBP earlier this month showed that apprehensions at the Mexico-United States border had increased for a sixth consecutive month, with 69,237 in October, the second highest total since February 2019.