Rep. Speier Describes 'Subhuman' Conditions Following Visit to Migrant Detention Facilities

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.

Kim: Vice President Mike Pence also went to McAllen, Texas, and visited a Border Patrol station there. He told reporters he couldn't be more proud of the agents at the facility and that every American should be proud and that he wasn't surprised by what he was seeing, that it was tough stuff.

Speier: Well, it is tough stuff. But I can't imagine any American looking at the photos that I've posted thinking that they're proud of what we are doing to these people. It is reprehensible. Meanwhile, we're spending $24 billion a year on these services now for immigration enforcement. It is 34% more than all the money we're spending on services like the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. So most of these people could be sent with ankle bracelets to their family members somewhere in the United States waiting for their asylum hearing.

Kim: Is that how we fix this? Is that the solution to these overcrowded conditions?

Speier: Well, we have to fix it by creating an environment where people aren't treated like animals. We have to then expedite the process by which their asylum hearings are being held. There's an 800,000 case backlog right now [and] we don't have sufficient immigration judges. And even though we have passed emergency supplemental funds for immigration enforcement, one of the guards told me that it will take eight months before the first new additional member will be hired because of the time it takes to process those who come forward and apply for these jobs.