Cruz asks DHS secretary to develop process to accept donations for detained migrants

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote a letter Monday to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asking the agency to set up a process for people wishing to donate supplies to help detained migrants. 

His letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan comes amid increased scrutiny of the treatment of migrants in U.S. custody. News reports this month have detailed poor conditions at detention facilities, and prompted a lawmaker visit to some centers this week.

Cruz asked the agency to establish and publicize a process of accepting donations from charities, faith-based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations “to aid individuals in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] custody.”{mosads}

Cruz noted in his letter that DHS facilities are “at peak or beyond peak capacity,” and praised Congress for approving $4.6 billion in emergency humanitarian aid for the border.

“Many Americans, however, also want to provide more direct and tangible help—they want to donate basic items such as diapers and toothbrushes to children in CBP custody,” he wrote. “Organizations are currently having difficulties making donations because DHS and CBP currently lack procedures to accept their donations.”

Attorneys who visited migrant children being held at a facility in Clint, Texas, told The Associated Press last month that children were going weeks without bathing and that they were fed only meals that included uncooked frozen food or rice.