Children in Detention: Overcrowded Border Facilities and Humanitarian Conditions
The DHS Inspector General's July 2019 report documented conditions at Border Patrol facilities in El Paso, Texas: some detainees held for over a month in single-occupancy holding rooms, standing room only conditions, limited access to showers and clean clothing, insufficient food, and inadequate medical care. The Clint facility conditions, documented by attorneys visiting to conduct interviews, included children sleeping on floors, a 2-year-old with dirty clothes, limited access to soap and toothbrushes, and sick children not separated from healthy ones. The administration's response was that the facilities were overwhelmed by a surge in arrivals and that Congress needed to provide additional funding.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- El Paso, TX / Clint, TX
- Category
- Deportation & Immigration
- Legal posture
- Reported
- War-crime classification
- Probable
- Verification
- Independently verified
- ICC relevance
- No
- Sources
- 4 cited
- Stable ID
trump-children-cages-immigration-detention- Victims
- Hundreds of children detained for weeks in conditions the DHS Inspector General found did not meet minimum care standards; children without access to adequate food, hygiene, or medical care
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, President; administration's enforcement priorities created conditions leading to overcrowding; rejected additional humanitarian funding initially— White House
- Kevin McAleenan, CBP Commissioner, then acting DHS Secretary; oversaw facilities during documented period— U.S. Customs and Border Protection / DHS
Key points
- The DHS Inspector General's July 2019 management alert documented conditions at El Paso Border Patrol facilities: one holding cell designed for 35 adults contained 155 adults; some detainees had been held for over 30 days in facilities designed for 72-hour maximum holds
- At the Clint, Texas facility in June 2019, attorneys visiting to conduct legal interviews documented 250 children in a facility designed for 104; conditions described included: children sleeping on concrete floors, 2-year-olds without clean diapers, sick children not separated from healthy ones, children without access to toothbrushes, soap, and showers
- Physicians and medical professionals who visited the facilities reported children with flu, lice, varicella, and other contagious illnesses without adequate medical care; the American Academy of Pediatrics documented the conditions as harmful to child development and health
- The administration's initial response was that the conditions resulted from an overwhelming surge in crossings rather than policy failures, and that Congress needed to provide emergency supplemental funding; Congress passed a $4.6 billion emergency supplemental in June 2019 to address the conditions
- The images and accounts from Clint and other facilities generated significant public and political attention; the term 'children in cages' referred specifically to chain-link enclosures used as holding areas within detention facilities, documented in photographs
- A separate ACLU report and multiple congressional investigations found that the family separation policy's poor record-keeping had made reunification difficult and in some cases impossible, and that some children had been transferred to facilities where staff had criminal records that had not been screened
Overview
The DHS's own Inspector General documented dangerous overcrowding in Border Patrol facilities holding children: 250 children in a facility designed for 104, children on concrete floors, sick children not separated from healthy ones, inadequate access to soap and food. This was not disputed. It was in the government's own report.
The administration's position was that it had been overwhelmed by a surge. The Inspector General's position was that the conditions were dangerous regardless of the cause.
Clint, Texas
The Clint, Texas facility became the focal point because immigration attorneys who visited to conduct legal interviews provided specific, documented accounts: a 2-year-old without clean diapers, teenagers managing toddlers because there were not enough adults, flu spreading through the facility without adequate medical response, children sleeping on concrete floors under mylar sheets.
The attorneys could not compel the government to act. They could document what they saw.
The Chain-Link Enclosures
The term "children in cages" referred to chain-link holding areas photographed within Border Patrol facilities. The administration initially claimed the photographs were from the Obama era (some were; some were from the Trump era). The DHS's own records confirmed children were held in these structures under the Trump administration.
The Inspector General's Finding
The DHS Inspector General is a federal official whose job is to document and report government failures. Their management alert — the government's own internal assessment — found dangerous overcrowding, prolonged detention in facilities designed for 72-hour holds, and conditions that did not meet minimum care standards.
The alert was titled "DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention of Children and Adults."
International law engaged
| Instrument | Provision | What it protects or prohibits |
|---|---|---|
| Convention on the Rights of the Child | Article 37 | Children deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of their age; detention conditions violating minimum standards for child welfare |
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights | Article 10 | All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person |
Update log
-
Updated with continued reporting on facility conditions.
Sequence of events
-
Surge in border crossings strains detention capacity
A surge in asylum-seeking families and unaccompanied minors overwhelms Border Patrol holding capacity. Administration characterizes it as a crisis requiring additional resources.
-
Attorneys document Clint, Texas conditions
Immigration attorneys visiting Clint, Texas to interview detained children document 250 children in a facility designed for 104, with inadequate food, hygiene, and medical care. Their accounts are published nationally.
-
DHS Inspector General issues management alert
DHS OIG issues a management alert finding 'dangerous overcrowding' and prolonged detention of children and adults at El Paso Border Patrol facilities, documenting conditions violating minimum care standards.
-
Congress passes $4.6 billion emergency supplemental
Congress passes a $4.6 billion emergency humanitarian supplemental to address detention conditions. The funds are directed to food, medical care, and alternative detention programs.
-
Continued reporting on facility conditions
Investigative reporting and inspector general reports continue documenting substandard conditions at immigration detention facilities; the DHS OIG issues additional reports finding persistent deficiencies.
Sources
- Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Border Patrol Detention of Migrant Children — The New York Times
- DHS watchdog finds 'dangerous' overcrowding at some Border Patrol stations — The Washington Post
- AP analysis: CBP holding more than 2,500 children as inspector general reports dangerous conditions — The Associated Press
- DHS OIG — Management Alert: DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention of Children and Adults in the Rio Grande Valley — DHS Office of Inspector General