Thousands of children that came across the southern border illegally are crowded in the Donna overflow detention facility near the border in the southern tip of Texas, according to leaked images.
Inside the cell, the floor is lined with what appears to be 4-inch thick mattresses, though some children seem to be sleeping on the floor. There’s barely any room left to walk in and out through the single glass-pane door per cell.
“They are separated by age or physical size depending on room," the source of the images told Veritas. "Fifty were COVID positive in these cells over the last few days. There have been multiple sexual assaults, normal assaults and daily medical emergencies."
The 185,000-square foot facility was finished about a month ago, while the pictures are a few days old, Veritas said.
Another set of images, showing similar conditions, was released by Rep. Henry Cuellar (R-Tex.).
The Biden administration has blocked media and NGO access to the facilities, claiming privacy and safety reasons, but also denied requests for images to demonstrate the conditions inside.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) on Sunday predicted that 1 million people would try to make their way into the United States by summer, attributing the influx to the policies of President Joe Biden.
Biden in his first days in office signed several executive actions to reverse many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies meant to deter Central Americans from trying to enter the United States illegally. Instead, Biden proposed a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens and promised to create "a humane asylum system.”
Under the COVID-19 pandemic and the related restrictions, illegal immigration slowed down last year, though it started to increase again in May. Among the restrictions relaxed by the Biden administration was allowing unaccompanied minors to enter the country while their asylum claims are processed, rather than making them wait in Mexico.