DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

Trump Defends Overcrowded Detention Camps After Pence Visit

“The adult single men areas were clean but crowded - also loaded up with a big percentage of criminals,” Trump tweeted.

President Trump praised the border detention centers visited by vice president Mike Pence in a tweet on Sunday, contradicting footage that showed squalid conditions the facilities. “Friday’s tour showed vividly, to politicians and the media, how well run and clean the children’s detention centers are. Great reviews!” Trump wrote. “The adult single men areas were clean but crowded - also loaded up with a big percentage of criminals.” Pence visited overcrowded pens where hundreds of men are being housed without cots on a concrete floor. Michael Banks, the agent in charge of the center Pence visited, said many of the men had not had a shower for 10 to 20 days, and conceded that some had been detained for up to 32 days. Some of the detained men said they had actually been held for 40 days or longer, and complained of hunger. Pence said Friday the detention facility he visited that housed many families was providing care that “every American would be proud of.”