‘STANDING ROOM ONLY’

900 People Found at Border Facility Built for 125: DHS Inspector General

Watchdog found “dangerous overcrowding,” detainees standing on toilets in jammed cells to gain breathing space at El Paso site.

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general discovered “dangerous overcrowding” at Texas’ El Paso Del Norte Processing Center, with logs indicating that 900 people were at the facility, which has a maximum capacity of 125 migrants, in early May. CNN reports the IG said that during an unannounced inspection investigators found unsanitary and “standing-room only conditions” at the processing center. One cell built to hold 12 migrants had 76 detainees, while another meant for eight people had 41 migrants, the report says. “[Customs and Border Protection] was struggling to maintain hygienic conditions in the holding cells. With limited access to showers and clean clothing, detainees were wearing soiled clothing for days or weeks,” the report says. “We also observed detainees standing on toilets in the cells to make room and gain breathing space, thus limiting access to the toilets.” The watchdog warned that morale is low among DHS workers at the facility, and “corrective action is critical to the immediate health and safety needs of detainees.”