Texas lawmaker: Detention facilities 'overflowing,' Congress must act on 'crisis'

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Will Hurd on border security, migrant crisis

Will Hurd on border security, migrant crisis

Border facilities were not meant for the amount of detainees they house and Congress must fix the crisis, according to Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas.

The facility causing controversy Tuesday over claims of neglect and mistreatment sits in his district and further proves something must be done, Hurd told Dana Perino on "The Daily Briefing."

"These are buildings not designed for detention," he said.

"These are buildings that are being overflowed and seeing double the capacity because border patrol, I.C.E., customs - they are being overwhelmed by the number of people that are coming here.

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"That's why we need to streamline our asylum process."

Congress must set aside resources to increase the number of judges tasked with adjudicating asylum claims, the House Appropriations Committee member added.

"We need to make sure we have more judges to process people and make sure that if you're not supposed to be here, then you need to be deported," Hurd said.

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As of Tuesday, only 30 children reportedly remained at the detention facility in Clint - within Hurd's district. The site previously held more than 300.

The U.S. government reportedly had moved hundreds of migrant children away from a Border Patrol facility in Texas after stories surfaced last week of them experiencing neglect and mistreatment.

Last week, lawyers who interviewed those children told the Associated Press they heard stories about them having to live with inadequate food, water and sanitation.

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Government laws call for migrant children to be kept by Border Patrol for no more than 72 hours before they are transferred to the custody of Health and Human Services, which houses the minors in facilities across the country. While housed, authorities then determine if they can be released to relatives or other close individuals.

“[Unaccompanied children] are waiting too long in CBP facilities that are not designed to care for children,” the Office of Refugee Resettlement told the Associated Press.

"These children should now all be in HHS care as of Tuesday."