Disturbing stories and poignant images emerged this week in the U.S. immigration crisis.
Lawyers who visited border patrol stations across the U.S. state of Texas reported inhumane and unsanitary conditions for young children and mothers. Many of the unaccompanied children were said to be hungry, sick and dirty.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said their facilities are overcrowded and could run out of funding by the end of the month.
In response, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate passed their own border relief bills and must now find a compromise. And, a devastating photo of a Salvadoran father and his daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande River brought into focus the harsh reality and the risks families are taking to reach the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump blamed party politics.
To discuss all of this:
- Toby Gialluca is an attorney who visited a U.S. border patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.
- Maria Perez is an associate director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center.
- Rafael Bernal is a staff writer with the U.S. political newspaper, The Hill.
- Michael Johns is the co-founder and national leader of the U.S. Tea Party movement.
For more:
They died trying to get to the US.
A 25-year-old father downed with his 23-month-old daughter crossing the Rio Grande while trying to gain asylum in the U.S.
Unfortunately, their sad story is one of many.#Migrantcrisis #USMexico pic.twitter.com/XyMI0m0hnT— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) June 26, 2019
Photographs bring home the human cost of the US immigration policy. Will a photo showing a drowned migrant and his two-year-old daughter change the debate? https://t.co/sstwLH5RMF pic.twitter.com/1JpojrDCon
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) June 26, 2019