Yesterday, U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., joined a bipartisan congressional delegation to Tornillo, Texas, where the Trump Administration built a tent camp to hold migrant children who were detained at the border. The site opened earlier this month and houses boys and girls ages 13 to 17, including children who were separated from their parents as a result of the President’s now-rescinded family separation policy. Murphy spoke with some of those children, toured the facilities, and met with Administration officials to inquire about their plans to reunite children with their parents.
“As a mom, it was important for me to speak directly with these children and to hear their stories firsthand,” Murphy said. “Securing our borders must be a priority but separating families is not the answer. Separated migrant children must be reunited with their parents as soon as possible.”
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| Congresswoman Murphy meets with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Tornillo, Texas to discuss the treatment of children who have been separated from their parents at the border. |
The Tornillo detention site, which can hold up to 400 people, was built to accommodate overflow from other detention facilities after the Trump Administration implemented its family separation policy. It is similar to the types of sites that are established in the wake of natural disasters. Some of the children Murphy spoke with said they have been in federal detention for three months.
During its visit, the bipartisan delegation met with officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The delegation inquired about the Administration’s plan to reunite separated children with their parents but were not given specific details.
“It’s clear the Administration implemented its family separation policy without planning for the consequences, leading to chaos and confusion,” said Murphy, who previously helped coordinate disaster response efforts at the Department of Defense. “I am concerned that federal agencies are not working together in close coordination to swiftly reunite children and their parents and to bring this crisis to an end.”
The other members of the bipartisan congressional delegation were U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., as well as U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro, D-Texas; Mike Coffman, R-Colo.; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas; Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y.; and Tom Suozzi D-N.Y.
