President Donald Trump has addressed reports on the condition of border patrol facilities at the southern border on July 3, following claims by Democratic lawmakers that illegal immigrants are subjected to poor treatment.
“Our Border Patrol people are not hospital workers, doctors or nurses. The Democrats bad Immigration Laws, which could be easily fixed, are the problem. Great job by Border Patrol, above and beyond,” Trump posted on Twitter. “Many of these illegals aliens are living far better now than where they came from, and in far safer conditions.”
He suggested that some Democratic Congress members were mischaracterizing the situation in the facilities, saying that the crux of the problem needs to be resolved through stronger immigration laws.
“No matter how good things actually look, even if perfect, the Democrat visitors will act shocked & aghast at how terrible things are. Just Pols. If they really want to fix them, change the Immigration Laws and Loopholes. So easy to do!” he continued.
“Now, if you really want to fix the Crisis at the Southern Border, both humanitarian and otherwise, tell migrants not to come into our country unless they are willing to do so legally, and hopefully through a system based on Merit. This way we have no problems at all!”
During the visit, Ocasio-Cortez posted various claims about what she had seen and heard inside the facility including one where CBP officers had told a female detainee to drink water from a toilet bowl.
“Now I’ve seen the inside of these facilities. It’s not just the kids. It’s everyone. People drinking out of toilets, officers laughing in front of members Congress,” she said. “I brought it up to their superiors. They said ‘officers are under stress & act out sometimes.’ No accountability.”
Many of her claims have been disputed by past and present border patrol agents and officials, as well as a group of pastors who visited the same border patrol facility as the freshman congresswoman.
“So this is what happened with the migrant and drinking water from toilet: she wanted water, didn’t know how to use the faucet in the cell, and drank from the toilet. She never told AOC that we made her drink from the toilet. AOC, of course, changed it … This was when she [the migrant] was apprehended and brought into the facility,” the agent told the news outlet.
He explained that the holding cells at the facilities have an apparatus that is comprised of a sink and toilet that uses two separate water lines.
“You’re drinking out of the same apparatus, the same piece of equipment, but there are two separate water lines—one going to the commode, one going to the sink,” Homan said.
“They are designed that way to try to save space and make it more comfortable for the people who are in those facilities,” he added.
“To my surprise, I saw something drastically different from the stories I’ve been hearing in our national discourse. Even as a veteran of immigration advocacy in the U.S., I was shocked at the misinformation of the crisis at the border,” he added.