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发帖数: 1 | 1 Trump migrant separation policy: Children 'in cages' in Texas
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44518942
Reporters and Democratic lawmakers have been allowed inside a detention
centre that lies at the heart of a growing storm over a new US policy
separating migrant children from their parents.
Authorities did not allow photos or videos to be taken inside the centre,
but US Customs and Border Protection later released several images. Former
First Lady Laura Bush has compared it to the internment camps used for
Japanese-Americans during World War Two. A Democratic congressman who
visited the site said it was "nothing short of a prison".
The Texas facility is known as Ursula, though immigrants are reportedly
calling it La Perrera - dog kennel in Spanish - in reference to the cages
used to hold children and adults who have ended up there after crossing the
border from Mexico illegally.
"One cage had 20 children inside. Scattered about are bottles of water, bags
of chips [crisps] and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets," the
Associated Press reports.
Image copyrightUS CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
Image caption
This image from the US Customs and Border Protection shows the foil blankets
given to children
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley led the team of lawmakers to the site in the
town of McAllen on Sunday.
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He hit the headlines earlier this month when he was turned away from another
facility housing some 1,500 boys in a disused Walmart store.
Speaking to CNN after the visit to Ursula, he said: "In wire-mesh, chain
linked cages that are about 30x30 [feet], a lot of young folks put into them.
"I must say though, far fewer than I was here two weeks ago. I was told that
buses full (of children) were taken away before I arrived.
"That was one of my concerns, that essentially, when you have to give
lengthy notice, you end up a little bit of a show rather than seeing what's
really going on in these centres."
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and Vermont Congressman Peter Welch
expressed shock and anger over the conditions they saw:
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Inside Ursula, more than 1,100 illegal immigrants are waiting to be
processed. They have been separated into three wings: unaccompanied children
, lone adults and parents with their children. Officials said nearly 200 of
those being held there were unaccompanied minors and another 500 were
parents with their children.
The Los Angeles Times, which also sent a team there, described the 72,000 sq
ft facility as "clean and spare, with bare concrete floors".
A patrol agent currently in charge of the site, John Lopez, told the paper
the 42 portable toilets on site are cleaned three times a day. There are
three paramedics, two medical members of staff and 310 employees - but no
mental health staff, or training, the paper notes. The main lights in the
building remain on at all times. |
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