Letter to Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross - In Aftermath Of Child Migrant Deaths, Durbin, Senators Call For Investigating Detention Facilities At Southwest Border

Letter

Dear Mr. Maurer:

We respectfully request that International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediately investigate the safety of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention facilities at the southwest United States border, in particular the conditions for minors, families, and other vulnerable individuals. We are deeply concerned that the overcrowded conditions at Border Patrol holding facilities are placing detained migrants at risk.

CBP's current facilities are inadequate for the current volume of migrants being detained at the border. On May 8, CBP witnesses stated in testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee:

Our short-term holding facilities were neither designed for the large volume of family units nor for long-term custody. We consider 4,000 detainees to be a high number of migrants in custody, and in the past had considered 6,000 detainees a crisis. In this fiscal year, CBP has already experienced more than 14,000 detainees in custody on a single day.

The ICRC has played a critical role in ensuring that migrant detention facilities around the world comply with international human rights standards. We ask that you immediately launch an investigation into CBP's facilities for detained migrants on the U.S. southwest border.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to a prompt response.