Border Patrol agents in Clint, Texas, (the detention center where kids are reportedly sick, unclean, and caring for one another) are turning down donations of diapers and toys, as reported by Alex Samuels at the Texas Tribune. That’s right: The facility which reportedly isn’t proving enough food, water, or sanitary conditions for the children trapped there, away from their parents, also isn’t accepting donations of goods. Sick? Absolutely.
As reported by the Tribune, Austin Savage and a few of his friends went to the facility named in The New York Times article detailing these horrible conditions. They brought diapers, wipes, toys, and soap. As their story continues, however, Border Patrol agents ignored them—and their $340 worth of donations.
“A good friend of mine is an immigration attorney, and he warned us that we were going to get rejected,” Savage told the Tribune. “We were aware of that, but it’s just the idea of doing something as opposed to passively allowing this to occur.”
And lest you think this was just bad luck—that these volunteers had come at a bad time—Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat in Texas, also spoke to the Tribune. Apparently, he has also tried to work with Border Patrol to get donations from the public into the agency. Their response? They just don’t accept them.
He tweeted about it:
As a reminder: The conditions reported in this particular detention center are abhorrent. Researchers allege that sick children are caring for one another, they lack enough food and water, and that their living conditions are not hygienic. Not only is it inhumane to jail kids in detention centers, separated from their parents and almost certainly traumatized, but the lack of safe conditions is also not the norm.
According to The Flores Agreement (1997), kids held in federal custody must have sanitary and safe conditions, including medical care, food, clothing, and even recreation time.
Instead, now we have Trump officials arguing that these innocent children don’t need toothbrushes:
Border Patrol officials allegedly didn’t speak to Savage and his group, but the volunteers did have an interaction that made a lasting impression. A plastic bag, filled with supplies, had a note attached to it, reading, “I heard y'all need soap + toothpaste for kids.”
Where was it? Deserted near the lobby door. Talk about deplorable.