Paramedics had to come in regularly to treat the children's panic attacks, so severe that their hands twitched and their bodies trembled.
They often occurred when another of the children were taken away to be reunited with their families, leaving the remaining children frustrated and
without hope of leaving the largest emergency shelter that the Biden Administration established
to house the children. unaccompanied who crossed the border from Mexico with the United States.
The conditions described to
The Associated Press
news agency
by a federal volunteer who spent two weeks in May at the Fort Bliss Military Base shelter in El Paso, Texas, highlight the desperation and stress experienced by thousands of children detained in unlicensed facilities, hoping to reunite with family members.
[Thousands of migrant minors are crammed into "emergency" shelters with little supervision and little care]
Some had marks on their arms indicating self-injury.
The volunteers were asked to keep objects such as pencils, scissors or even brushes away from the children because they could be used as weapons.
While some girls made origami and braided friendship bracelets, a large number of minors spent the day sleeping, the volunteer said.
Some had been there for almost two months.
The volunteer spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to reveal what she witnessed at the base between May 12 and 25.
But he assured that he decided to share his experience due to the despair he observed.
This is how a pro-immigrant organization fights to help parents of separated children at the border
June 9, 202102: 02
"The paramedics would come to the tent and often take the children on stretchers because their hands were contracting, their heads were tilted, their limbs were shaking and it was obvious that they had no control," said the volunteer.
The conditions in these emergency shelters raise
questions about why it takes more than a month on average to release children
, when most have relatives in the United States.
Amid the unprecedented arrival of children alone at the border, the Biden Administration opened 14 emergency shelters.
And although the number of staff in these shelters has increased and the flow of minors has decreased, the time they spend there continues to exceed the authorities' own recommendations.
Migrant children at a Border Patrol detention center in Donna, Texas;
on March 30, 2021.AP
"I think there is a general consensus that no child should stay in these emergency shelters for more than two weeks,"
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy adviser at the American Immigration Council
, told
The Associated Press
.
Lawyers and migrant advocates also wonder why most children are in shelters that do not have a license.
As of May 31,
nearly 9,000 children were staying in unlicensed sites, compared to 7,200 in accredited shelters
, according to court documents.
While emergency facilities were operating at full capacity that month, permit facilities were only about half full, according to an official report from the agency in charge of childcare.
[The Border Patrol intercepts a boat with 16 undocumented migrants off the coast of San Diego]
A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official did not comment specifically on allegations that paramedics were responding to children's panic attacks, but said the Administration was working to expand indoor recreational space, the support for mental health, wellness activities and educational services.
Mental health services and psychological counseling are available to all minors at the emergency facilities, the official said.
The record arrival of migrant children has put the Biden Administration to the test.
Between February and May,
almost 60,000 minors were located at the border without their parents
.
Border Patrol rescues two Salvadoran minors, ages 7 and 17, in California
June 9, 202100: 22
The government's goal is to safely and quickly unite all children with their
parents or sponsors in the United States, but it takes time to conduct a comprehensive assessment that includes interviews, background checks and sometimes home visits, explained the official.
The number of children in shelters has dropped from the peak of more than 23,000 to 16,000.
Four emergency shelters have been closed, while two more are expected to close soon.
Releasing the children from custody has taken on new urgency since Texas Governor Republican Greg Abbott this month ordered a state agency to stop issuing licenses for shelters.
But advocates fear that if shelters end up closing this will result in more minors at unaccredited facilities like the one at Fort Bliss.
They could cut licenses to 50 shelters for migrant children in Texas
June 7, 202102: 39
For the volunteer it is evident the wear and tear that staying there has meant for the children.
In order to better care for the more than 900 minors who were at Fort Bliss when she was there, the volunteers divided the children into groups of 25. But some
required personalized supervision 24 hours a day, as they showed tendencies to do it. damage
.
When a shy 13-year-old girl received a new pair of shoes, weeks after she was admitted, to replace the tattered pair she had worn since leaving Guatemala and walking for days, she squeezed them against her chest, the volunteer said.
On May 24, the government notified the volunteers that it would no longer need them because the company in charge of the facilities had already hired enough staff to have one worker for every 15 children.
[This Abbott claim is true: Migrant children in federal custody are double Trump's highest number]
"I know that this is very difficult news for many of us and that we are all concerned that children are treated humanely when we have left," said the volunteer in an email, in which she informed that the volunteers were they would go little by little.
The contracting company, Rapid Deployment Inc., declined to respond to a request for comment and referred questions to Management.
With information from The Associated Press.