Many U.S. holding cells along the Mexican border were less than half-full during a surge of asylum-seekers, documents show. That raises questions about Trump administration claims that people had to wait in Mexico because it couldn't accommodate them.
FILE - In this April 29, 2019, file photo, Cuban migrants are escorted in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, by Mexican immigration officials as they cross the Paso del Norte International bridge to be processed as asylum seekers on the U.S. side of the border. Newly unsealed court documents show that many U.S. holding cells along the Mexican border were less than half-full, or even empty, during an unprecedented surge of asylum-seeking Central American families.
Legal advocates for migrants say the figures show that Trump administration officials were making up excuses to keep people from entering the U.S. to apply for asylum. A federal appeals court unsealed the documents after a request from The Associated Press. They were originally filed as part of a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration practice of forcing asylum-seekers to wait for weeks or months in dangerous Mexican border cities to request asylum in the United States.
“It’s not turning people away; it’s asking them to wait,” then-CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said in 2018. On March 14, according to one daily snapshot, 672 people were in custody at all 24 crossings, a 57% occupancy rate. San Diego’s San Ysidro port of entry was 89% full, Hidalgo was overcrowded, and El Paso was nearly full. But Laredo was only 40% full, Brownsville was at 35%, and seven crossings, mostly in California, were empty.
Todd Owen, a senior CBP official overseeing ports of entry, said under oath in a deposition Dec. 13 that the available of holding-cell space fluctuates according to the type of migrants being held and whether they need to be isolated from others.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Ivanka Trump: 'Women are thriving in the Trump economy''Women are thriving like never before,' senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump told CNBC.
Les mer »
Trump says he would rather face Bloomberg than Sanders: Bernie 'has real followers'Trump said Bernie Sanders 'has real followers,' while Mike Bloomberg is 'just buying his way' into the Democratic presidential field.
Les mer »
Prosecutors call for lower sentence for Roger Stone, Trump denies he spoke with Justice DepartmentBREAKING: The entire team of federal prosecutors involved in Roger Stone's case has withdrawn. It was not immediately clear whether their withdrawals were an act of protest of the Justice Department's reversal on its sentencing recommendation for Stone.
Les mer »
Some Experts Worry as a Germ-Phobic Trump Confronts a Growing EpidemicWASHINGTON -- When an outbreak of the Ebola virus touched the United States&39; shores in mid-2014, Donald Trump was still a private citizen. But he had strong opinions about how America should act.Trump, who has spoken openly about his phobia of germs, closely followed the epidemic, and offered angry
Les mer »
New Hampshire exit polls: Defeating Trump tops issues for Democratic votersBy nearly 2-to-1, respondents put November prospects at the top of their wish list, according to early exit poll data.
Les mer »
NBC News Exit Poll: Most New Hampshire Republicans more loyal to Trump than partyMore than half of voters in the New Hampshire Republican primary have greater allegiance to President Donald Trump than the Republican Party, according to early results from the NBC News Exit Poll
Les mer »