Child migrants: First photos emerge of Biden-era migrant detention centres
- Published
Images captured at a migrant detention centre in Texas show children huddled together on the floor under foil blankets in crowded makeshift rooms.
The facility, a government-run tent city in Donna at the US-Mexico border, is reportedly holding 1,000 people.
The photos, released on Monday by Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, are the first since President Joe Biden came to power to show conditions at such sites.
Critics blame President Biden for a surge in illegal migration to the US.
Since taking office in January, Mr Biden has removed some of the restrictions for those entering the US introduced by his predecessor, Donald Trump, including reversing the unaccompanied minor policy.
The Biden administration said last week that conditions at some facilities were "not acceptable".
The US government has said it wants to work with Mexico and Guatemala to address the root causes of the problem, which include widespread poverty and violence in Central America.
The images from Donna, reportedly captured at the weekend, show children being kept close together on thin mats, raising concerns over a possible lack of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people remain 2m (6ft) apart to help prevent the spread of virus infections.
Mr Cuellar, a Democrat, said that those being housed at the centre had been divided among eight plastic "pods" and were sleeping on the floor on thin mattresses.
Activists have also said that those housed at the site have not been given adequate access to soap or food.
Speaking on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said there was special concern about the growing number of unaccompanied children arriving at US border crossings.
Ms Psaki said the US wanted to tackle the causes of migration to the US.
"Children presenting at our border who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing persecution, who are fleeing terrible situations is not a crisis," she said.
"We feel that it is our responsibility to humanely approach this circumstance and make sure they are treated... and put in to conditions that are safe."
There has been a big influx of arrivals to the US southern border since Mr Biden took office, including hundreds of unaccompanied children who are being held in US immigration detention facilities.
Since January, the president has ordered the reunification of migrant children with their families, ended construction of Mr Trump's border wall and called for reviews of legal immigration programmes terminated by the former president.
While in office, Mr Trump faced criticism over the conditions inside border facilities holding children.
Some Trump-era facilities - now renovated and upgraded - are being used again. Despite concerns about coronavirus, health officials from the CDC have said these facilities can open at 100% capacity.