House Democrat Henry Cuellar tosses Biden under the bus with immigrant centre pics

[Celerity]

Migrants held in overcrowded Texas facility, photos released by congressman show

Cuellar released images as Biden administration under growing pressure over border conditions

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/22/migrant-detention-center-photos-texas-facility



The Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar has brought more pain for the Joe Biden administration on its border policy by releasing pictures of an overcrowded immigration facility in Texas where he said more than 400 male minors were being held in a section meant for 250.

The White House is under growing pressure over conditions at the southern border, where federal authorities are trying to cope with an increase in migrant crossings from Mexico, many by unaccompanied minors, while staying true to Biden’s promise to implement a more humane policy than that pursued by Donald Trump. Cuellar said the images showed a facility in Donna, Texas, that contained eight plastic-divided “pods” used to hold migrants. He said he did not visit the facility himself. The pictures showed migrants covered in foil blankets and lying on plastic mattresses.



Under US policy, children are not supposed to be held in custody for more than three days. More than 2,000 have currently passed that limit. Controversy is also mounting over the Biden administration’s refusal to allow press access to such border facilities. Cuellar gave the pictures to Axios and described “terrible conditions for the children”, who he said should be moved into the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Border patrol agents were “doing the best they can under the circumstances”, the congressman said, but were “not equipped to care for kids” and “need help from the administration”. “We have to stop kids and families from making the dangerous trek across Mexico to come to the United States,” Cuellar said. “We have to work with Mexico and Central American countries to have them apply for asylum in their countries.”

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the RW press has been using Cuellar as a weapon against Biden well before this





Cuellar is by far the worst Democratic House member. Deep blue district (never in history has it elected a Rethug) but he is an anti-LGBTQ bigot, a virulent forced-birther, voted with Trump almost 70% of the time in the 115th Congress, A- rated by the NRA, anti-immigrant, massively pro big oil, very poor on climate change, and anti green tech, he fundraised and campaigned for the RW racist Rethug climate change denialist John Carter, he is the biggest Dem recipient (and almost the biggest in the entire House) of funding by the Trump scandal ridden private prison GEO Group (who also run immigrant detention camps, and NOT the one Cuellar is dropping pics of, quelle surprise).

We need a good sold centrist (but one who believes in the Democratic core platform, unlike Cellar, and who isn't anti LQBTQ and who isn't a rabid forced birther, etc) to primary him, NOT a progressive, as they cannot win there. Cuellar is the only sitting Dem I support primarying, especially as it is safe Blue seat. I NEVER advocate primarying vulnerable Democrats in pink, purple, red districts.

[thx64536]

1. Same old crap

For 50 years now the Republicans destroy and gut the government and then when Democrats are back in charge everyone acts surprised when government doesn't function well. I'm so sick of this pattern. The Democrats and Biden are going to need a couple of years to rebuild everything the Trumpanzees destroyed. This is exactly the same as when Republicans were roasting Obama over the banking crisis not being fixed March of 2009.

Here's a great clip on what really is happening:

The Republican in the video actually said Biden was purposely sending children into sex trafficking. At what point does the over the top hyperbole start to matter. As far as I am concerned Republicans have no license to talk about government or governing when they are so freaking bad at it!!!!!!

[Celerity]

2. 'Republican in the video actually said Biden was purposely sending children into sex trafficking'

Lt Governor from Texas, Dan Patrick. One of the biggest bags of shit out there.




fuck these motherfuckers

[Iliyah]

3. This only confirms what the republicans have been doing . . .

for the past 3-4 years under shithole.

[Celerity]

4. Morning Joe all over this, and bashing Biden about 'the crisis', using these pics to hammer him

[Arazi]

5. Tbh that doesn't look that bad

Am I the only one who sees these and says this looks about as crowded as every school gymnasium at lunch?

Furthermore there's no context here. What is this place? Is this where they initially come when they're picked up? Or is this where they've been for a week? 🤷?♀️

[Celerity]

6. Inside a closed-door US Border Patrol facility in Donna, Texas

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/22/politics/border-patrol-overcrowded-photos/index.html

(CNN)As the number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the US-Mexico border continues to rise, hundreds have been kept in US Border Patrol facilities not meant for minors. The Biden administration has not allowed journalists to independently visit the facilities, but several lawmakers have visited sites. Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar provided these photos revealing the conditions for dozens of children and adults in an overflow facility in Donna, Texas.

As of Sunday, there were 822 children held in Border Patrol facilities, akin to jail-like conditions, for over 10 days, according to documents obtained by CNN. The number of kids held for a prolonged period of time has climbed almost daily as the administration races to find shelter to accommodate them and amid constraints related to the coronavirus pandemic.



Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, when pressed by CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" Sunday, would not provide a timeline on when children at the border will be housed in more humane conditions, only saying it would be "as soon as possible." Mayorkas told Bash that the Biden administration is "working around the clock to move those children out of the Border Patrol facilities into the care and custody of the Department of Health and Human Services that shelters them." "I have said repeatedly from the very outset that a Border Patrol station is no place for a child," the secretary said.

In early February, US Customs and Border Protection announced the opening of a soft-sided facility in Donna to process individuals. The facility is different from typical Border Patrol stations and provides areas for eating and sleeping, according to the agency. The growing number of migrant arrivals, however, has overwhelmed the administration's resources, resulting in crowded conditions. The average time in custody for unaccompanied children continues to hover around 130 hours, exceeding the 72-hour legal limit, though the number of children in Customs and Border Protection custody dropped slightly to just under 4,900, documents show.



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