Several members of Congress from California over the weekend visited detention facilities holding migrants in the Texas border cities of McAllen and Brownsville. Among them was Bay Area Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, who documented the visit on Twitter. One of her photos shows a minor behind caged fencing holding a toddler in a onesie. Another image captures a group of young men behind glass with their hands clasped together.
Speier spoke about the trip with KQED’s Mina Kim on Monday. Here is an excerpt of their conversation and photos from Speier's Twitter feed:
Mina Kim: That image of the young men behind glass at a holding station in McAllen — what were they trying to communicate with you?
Jackie Speier: Well, one of the images is of them with their hands in prayer asking for relief. I mean, these are men who have been apprehended, have been there as much as 60 days in very small, cramped cells that normally house, I'd say, five to 10 people. And now there were 40 men. They were taking turns lying on the concrete floor to rest. But they had been there for 40 days without a shower and without a toothbrush to brush their teeth. And I must say that I found it so subhuman, and as I looked at them I realized that if we had dogs kenneled in those cells, the American Humane Society would shut it down instantly because it is so repugnant of everything we believe in.