BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS — It all started with the unannounced visit by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley to this immigrant shelter for minors in Brownsville, Texas two Sundays ago that has opened the door to the questioning of how these children are cared for, once they fall in the custody of the federal government.
They call it a fact-finding mission. Six congressmen and two senators, all Democrats, toured government facilities on the border along the Texas Rio Grande Valley.
"Certainly, the 'zero tolerance' policy means zero humanity, and it makes zero sense,” Senator Merkley said.
Led by Merkley, the group paid a visit to Border Patrol detention centers, housing roughly 1,500 undocumented adults and children.
Images provided by Border Patrol showing immigrants behind chain-link fences are a reminder that a humanitarian crisis that began in 2013 continues to this day.
Border Patrol RGV Sector Chief Manuel Padilla took the opportunity to address questions about the administration's 'zero tolerance' policy prosecuting anyone caught crossing the border illegally.
"If we are going to deter this type of activity, there has to be a consequence for entering the country illegally... the consequence being prosecution and/or removal to their respective countries,” he said.
That consequence is leading to the separation of children from their parents. Just in this corner of the southwest border, more than 1,100 children have been separated since October.
Padilla argues the practice is not a 'policy' as the same happens to U.S. citizen parents, who are facing criminal charges.
Border resident Abby Warshowsky sees it another way. "Seeing unaccompanied minors in this area has been going on for years, but this recent separation is just unfathomable,” she said.
The children arriving to the border unaccompanied and those temporarily separated while parents go through the judicial system, usually end up in government contracted shelters like Casa Padre, which Senator Merkley was finally able to tour Sunday afternoon. And while he applauds the work of those caring for the children here, it hasn't changed his position.
"It's completely unacceptable under any moral code or any religious tradition to injure children, inflict trauma on them in order to send some political message to adults somewhere overseas,” Merkley said.
Chief Padilla has called on Congress to close the loopholes that are at the root of the problem. He says these senators and congressmen have vowed to draft bills to address the issue.