Dems visit shelter for migrant children, call it ‘chilling’

A group of House Democrats paid a visit to a shelter for migrant children on Tuesday and sharply criticized the facility, calling it “chilling.” 

Democratic Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Fla.), Donna Shalala (Fla.), Joaquin Castro (Texas) and Sylvia Garcia (Texas) visited the temporary shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Homestead, Fla.

What we saw today was chilling. We must hold the Trump Admin accountable for this travesty, and make sure these children are reunited with their families as soon as possible. #ChildrenNotCriminals pic.twitter.com/GPAMqpzICz

— Rep. Donna E. Shalala (@RepShalala) February 19, 2019

Castro, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the system of facilities for migrant children part of a “morally bankrupt system.”

Private companies shouldn’t be able to profit off the warehousing of migrant children. What I saw at Homestead is part of a larger, morally bankrupt system. We must hold the Trump admin accountable to their responsibility to reunify these migrant children with their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/hVB8TBkB7o

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) February 19, 2019 

Mucarsel-Powell vowed to reunite the migrant children in Homestead with their families.

I just visited the migrant child detention facility in Homestead. I did not see criminals or gang members. I saw kids who have hope that this country would welcome them. I will do whatever possible in Congress to help reunite the kids with their families. #ChildrenNotCriminals https://t.co/pwA3BBFMUD

— Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (@RepDMP) February 19, 2019

The Homestead shelter is said to be the largest facility for unaccompanied children in the country, currently housing roughly 1,575 people between the ages of 13-17, according to CBS News’s Miami affiliate.

{mosads}The Department of Health and Human Services announced in December that it would be adding 1,000 beds to the shelter.

Homestead initially opened in 2016 after a record number of migrant children crossed the border. It closed in 2017 but reopened in March last year to accommodate an influx. 

Migrant children who illegally cross into the U.S. must be sent to a government shelter, like Homestead, where they stay until they can be united with relatives or other sponsors while awaiting immigration court hearings, under the so-called Flores agreement.

The Trump administration is reportedly working on new regulations that it says would terminate and replace that rule.

The administration tried to curb families illegally immigrating by enforcing a “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in children being separated from their parents. President Trump eventually retreated from the practice after intense bipartisan backlash.