Rosen Tours Detention Facilities at Southern Border, Calls for an End to Mistreatment of Migrant Children in U.S. Custody

Statement

Today, Senator Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 12 of her Senate colleagues, traveled to McAllen, TX to inspect and evaluate the conditions at border detention facilities. Senator Rosen participated in a press conference following the tours, continuing her calls for an end to the inhumane treatment of migrant children in U.S. custody.

"It's been 17 days since the Office of Inspector General report was released outlining the dangerous overcrowding and inhumane treatment of migrant children and adults at our southern border," said Senator Rosen. "What my colleagues and I saw today were horrendous conditions for innocent, migrant children, who are here, and are being treated like criminals. These facilities lack basic sanitary items, including any capacity to care for the needs of children who continue to live in overcrowded conditions. We need to come together and work in a bipartisan manner to end these inhumane practices, reunite separated families, and provide asylum seekers with the respect and dignity that our nation has long stood for."

BACKGROUND: Yesterday, Senator Rosen sent a letter to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) requesting that upcoming HSGAC hearings on the border focus on specific issues and solutions for the inhumane treatment of minors at our southern border and that such hearings take place before the Senate adjourns for the August state work period.

This week, during a HSGAC roundtable, Senator Rosen questioned Homeland Security Advisory Council panelists on how to ensure the safe and humane treatment of migrant children at the southern border.

Rosen announced last month that she placed holds on two Department of Homeland Security nominees, which she will keep in place until the inhumane and substandard conditions at migrant detention centers significantly improve and oversight requirements are met.

In June, Senator Rosen joined her colleagues in sending a letter to Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) requesting a hearing on the health and safety conditions of migrant children arriving at the southern border.

Also in June, Rosen led 17 of her colleagues in sending a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan raising concerns about a recent Office of Inspector General report detailing severe and dangerous overcrowding of migrants at El Paso Del Norte Processing Center during unannounced inspections conducted on May 8 and 9, 2019.

Rosen is a co-sponsor of the Keep Families Together Act, which would ensure that the federal government carries out immigration procedures in the best interest of detained children.

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