Ocasio-Cortez says ‘humane’ shelters have space following visits to border facilities

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Monday the “humane” shelters where families wouldn’t be separated have space to take in more migrants, despite arguments that defend overcrowding at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) migrant facility conditions by claiming shelters are at capacity. 

The freshman representative tweeted conditions she witnessed throughout the day as congress members toured border facilities in Texas. 

“Meanwhile, one refrain we‘ve heard is that people are overcrowded in CBP concentration camps because the shelters (which are humane places where families can stay together) are full. So we went to a shelter. They said that wasn’t true at all. Only 150/500 spots were filled,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

Meanwhile, one refrain we‘ve heard is that people are overcrowded in CBP concentration camps because the shelters (which are humane places where families can stay together) are full.

So we went to a shelter. They said that wasn’t true at all. Only 150/500 spots were filled. pic.twitter.com/E0yPQ3o7CC

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019

At the border camps, Ocasio-Cortez said CBP officers told women to drink out of toilets, and one women described the treatment as “psychological warfare.” 

“Tell me what about that is due to a “lack of funding?” Ocasio-Cortez said. 

The Hill reached out to CBP for comment. 

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) shared similar report after the tour, saying conditions are “far worse than we could have imagined.” 

Dean tweeted 15 women in their 50s and 60s were sleeping in a “small concrete cell” with no running water. 

“This is a human rights crisis,” she said. {mosads}

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) tweeted officers told women to drink from toilets. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) tweeted detainees haven’t been given “real food” or access to showers.