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Former Democratic Rep Says It’s A Mistake To Ban The Press From Seeing Migrant Children Facilities

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A Tennessee Democrat said Monday that it’s a mistake to ban the press from seeing migrant children detention facilities.

“I think a reliance more on reaction and not allowing the press access are mistakes,” Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” The press isn’t allowed to see migrant facilities housing minors at the southern border, including one in Carrizo Springs, Texas, due to the coronavirus, a Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Ford credited President Joe Biden’s administration for acknowledging that there must be a new policy and approach towards children who cross the border.

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The Carrizo Springs facility was originally opened in 2019 and was reopened by the Biden administration on Feb. 22, according to The Wall Street Journal. The facility and additional emergency shelters were opened in order to handle the surge in children at the southern border.

Democrats criticized the move at the time partly due to the shelters not adhering to care standards for permanent government shelters, the WSJ reported.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said apprehensions at the southern border are on track to reach a 20-year high, according to a March 16 statement from the Department of Homeland Security. Mayorkas said unaccompanied children aren’t being turned away at the border, but the majority of single adults and families are.

Ford reiterated that administering economic aid “to that region of the world, which is in our own hemisphere” must be considered.

“We can continue to try to score political points. This helped former President Trump four years ago when he ran and it helps Democrats every two to four years,” Ford said.

“If that’s what we want then we should expect what we’re getting at the border now. If we’re serious about it, then a broader, more comprehensive set of ideas and solutions need to be applied to the border starting with securing our border,” Ford said.