DHS official defends conditions at Border Patrol stations
"It's an extraordinarily challenging situation," McAleenan told
Government inspectors described an increasingly dangerous situation, both for migrants and agents — a "ticking time bomb," in the words of one facility manager. The report echoed findings in May by the department's inspector general about holding centers in
In tweets Sunday afternoon, Trump went further than McAleenan in defending his administration's response, accusing the news media of "phony and exaggerated accounts" but without providing evidence.
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"The president is acting like we are some weak, pathetic country," said
McAleenan said that since the first of the year, 200 medical providers have been added to facilities, including personnel from the
"We have pediatricians in border patrol stations for the first time in history trying to help address conditions where children are coming across 300 a day in ... April and May," McAleenan said.
"We've built soft-sided temporary facilities. These are spaces that are much more appropriate — high ceilings, more room for children and families. We've put them both in
McAleenan disputed news reports, including those by The Associated Press, of especially troubling conditions at a border station in
"There's adequate food and water," he said. "The facility's cleaned every day, because I know what our standards are and I know they're been followed because we have tremendous levels of oversight. Five levels of oversight.
"Inadequate food, inadequate water and unclean cells. None of those have been substantiated."
He said everyone in the chain of command is worried about the situation of children detained at the border. He said that on
"So that's huge improvement based on the resources we asked for from
Sen.
"I'm just like, 'What world are they living in?'" Merkley said, citing government and news reports. "From every direction you see that the children are being treated in a horrific manner. And there's an underlying philosophy that it's OK to treat refugees in this fashion. And that's really the rot at the core of the administration's policy."
Separately, McAleenan addressed questions about
He said an allegation about such activity was investigated in 2016. "Discipline was meted out on an agent that made an offensive post on that website," he said.
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