Lawmakers tour Florida migrant teen camp, want policy shift
Source: Associated Press
Updated 5:18 pm CST, Tuesday, February 19, 2019
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Congressional Democrats from Florida and Texas on Tuesday toured a migrant camp, where they said children are being held for too long in a place that has a "prison-like" feeling.
The lawmakers held a news conference after visiting a facility in Homestead, Florida. They pledged to work for children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border to reunite with their families already in the U.S. The Democrats say those who cross with siblings, aunts or uncles should remain together.
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell says she met a girl who was separated from her aunt and had been at the center for nine months. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, the chairman of the Hispanic caucus, was part of the delegation.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offered a press tour last week, showing a large room where 144 teenagers slept in bunks, and portable toilets were housed in adjacent tents. The children walked in groups of 10 to 15 in single file, usually led by a uniformed employee.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Lawmakers-tour-Florida-migrant-teen-camp-want-13628537.php