(KGTV) - Video provided by U.S. border officials shows hundreds of migrant children, some separated from their parents, inside several steel cages at a Texas immigration detention facility.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials allowed media members to take an inside look at the facility in McAllen, Texas, to view how undocumented immigrants are processed and held amid controversy over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
The policy has sparked outrage as it has led to the separation of migrating families who are detained at the border. Also, many of the detainees are kept at facilities in conditions described by some as less-than-ideal.
IMAGES: Migrant families wait at central processing center in McAllen, Texas
In the video, dozens of detainees are seen cramped in fenced cages. Some are seen using large pieces of foil as blankets.
At the time of the media visit on June 17, CNN reported that more than 1,100 people were in the facility. Dozens at the facility were reportedly minors unaccompanied by a parent.
RELATED: DHS: 2,000 children have been separated from their parents at the US/Mexican border
The tour of the Texas facility comes two days after 10News visited a detention center in El Cajon that housed at least 60 migrant children.
Later in the day Monday, Congressman Duncan Hunter released a statement on the zero-tolerance policy:
“Our nation has laws that are in place and that deserve to be enforced. We owe this to our citizens as well as to our brave men and women enforcing those laws, they need to know they have our support. The amount of individuals with children coming to the border and either entering illegally or presenting themselves at a Port of Entry has increased significantly, more than doubling from previous years. The policy by the prior administration of simply providing a notice to appear and then releasing these individuals into the U.S. for a court date that is three years away is both irresponsible and unsustainable. Additionally, the number of our Border Patrol agents are down, so these agents are trying to handle more with less. For clarification, the policies in place now are the same policies that were in existence with prior administrations. Additionally, most individuals seeking asylum are not being separated from their families. People have legal options for gaining entry into our country and there are consequences to breaking those laws. That said, there are changes in our immigration policy that definitely need to be made and when policies are presented that start with building a border wall, then I am willing to work with any of my colleagues, including Democrats, to resolve the ongoing situation as soon as possible. It is my understanding that President Trump will be addressing the House GOP on this matter, I look forward to hearing more on what he has to say about the situation.”
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