Currents News Staff
The main facility where thousands of migrants are held is not as over crowded and controversial as once seen. Officials have said it’s due to diminishing apprehensions.
Since June, the center has remained busy.
“We make sure they don’t have contagious diseases, if they do have a fever we will make sure to take the appropriate steps to take care of them, we will transfer them over to the hospital,” said deputy patrol agent Oscar Escamilla.
After being medically cleared when they enter, the migrants are then given food and snacks.
“Some crackers, juices, we’ll also give them a mylar blanket to cover themselves. In addition to that we’ll give them a shower wipes because we don’t know the last time they received a shower, they’ll be able to wipe themselves down before we get them in a shower so they can take a shower,” Escamilla explained.
Agents who run the center say the migrants shower every 72 hours at minimum. The agency also provides them with clean clothes.
“We make sure they’re wearing something new if they want it, we also let them wash their clothes,” one agent explained.
The fencing many refer to as ‘cages’ remain all throughout the facility, but agents explain that there’s a reason for the design.
“I can assign an agent and he’s able to see four, five cells down, versus if we had solid walls, I would have to add personnel just to manage and make sure everyone is safe,” Escamilla explained.
During their time in custody, all migrants are given phone calls to contact family members and speak to their consulates.
“The migrants as you saw are well taken care of, you saw the kids watching cartoons, interacting and they’re in a very clean facility,” said another agent at the facility.