{"slug":"trump-children-cages-immigration-detention","title":"Children in Detention: Overcrowded Border Facilities and Humanitarian Conditions","date":"2019-06-01","lastUpdated":"2020-01-15","description":"A 2019 report by the DHS Office of Inspector General documented severely overcrowded conditions in Border Patrol detention facilities, finding children held for weeks in facilities designed for days-long holds, inadequate food and water, denial of access to hygiene items, and children caring for other children. The conditions came to wide public attention through photographs and accounts from immigration attorneys and medical professionals who visited the facilities. At the Clint, Texas facility, federal inspectors found 250 children in a facility designed for 104, with children sleeping on concrete floors and sick children placed with healthy ones.","summary":"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.","category":"deportation","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/us/politics/border-patrol-clint-texas.html","title":"Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Border Patrol Detention of Migrant Children","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2019/07/09/dhs-watchdog-finds-dangerous-overcrowding-some-border-patrol-stations/","title":"DHS watchdog finds 'dangerous' overcrowding at some Border Patrol stations","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/border-patrol-children-detention-conditions-clint","title":"AP analysis: CBP holding more than 2,500 children as inspector general reports dangerous conditions","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2019-10/OIG-19-39-May19.pdf","title":"DHS OIG — Management Alert: DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention of Children and Adults in the Rio Grande Valley","publisher":"DHS Office of Inspector General"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["immigration","detention","children","civil-rights","first-term","humanitarian","border"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2019-05-01","title":"Surge in border crossings strains detention capacity","summary":"A surge in asylum-seeking families and unaccompanied minors overwhelms Border Patrol holding capacity. Administration characterizes it as a crisis requiring additional resources."},{"date":"2019-06-12","title":"Attorneys document Clint, Texas conditions","summary":"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."},{"date":"2019-07-02","title":"DHS Inspector General issues management alert","summary":"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."},{"date":"2019-07-01","title":"Congress passes $4.6 billion emergency supplemental","summary":"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."},{"date":"2020-01-15","title":"Continued reporting on facility conditions","summary":"Investigative reporting and inspector general reports continue documenting substandard conditions at immigration detention facilities; the DHS OIG issues additional reports finding persistent deficiencies."}],"location":{"name":"El Paso, TX / Clint, TX","lat":31.7619,"lng":-106.485},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"probable","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Convention on the Rights of the Child","article":"Article 37","provision":"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"},{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 10","provision":"All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person"}],"iccRelevance":false,"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","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; administration's enforcement priorities created conditions leading to overcrowding; rejected additional humanitarian funding initially","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Kevin McAleenan","role":"CBP Commissioner, then acting DHS Secretary; oversaw facilities during documented period","institution":"U.S. Customs and Border Protection / DHS"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-01-15","summary":"Updated with continued reporting on facility conditions."}]}}