You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

DHS Watchdog Warns of “Dangerous Overcrowding” at El Paso Migrant Prison

HeadlineJun 03, 2019

Homeland Security’s internal watchdog warned of “dangerous overcrowding” at migrant prisons on the U.S. southern border. In a report released Thursday, inspectors said they saw 900 people jammed into facilities in El Paso, Texas, intended for a maximum capacity of 125 people. Some of the imprisoned migrants were forced to stand for days due to lack of space, while some had to stand on toilets to get breathing space. The report advised Customs and Border Protection to take “immediate steps” to remedy the situation. President Trump has sought to place blame for the increase in migrants on the Mexican government. On Thursday, he threatened to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican goods starting next week, until Mexico cracks down on Central American migrants heading for the U.S. border. The tariff would increase 5% every month until it hits 25%. Mexican officials are set to hold talks with the Trump administration this week.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top