'This Is Not Okay': AOC Slams Biden Admin for Reopening Texas Facility to Hold Migrant Children

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known by her initials, AOC, has slammed President Joe Biden's administration after news broke out that it was reopening a detention facility for migrant children in Texas.

"This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party," AOC tweeted on Tuesday as Fox News reported.

AOC noted that it's only two months into this administration, and the "fraught, unjust immigration system" will not change in that short time.

That's why, AOC said that bold reimagination is so important, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "should not exist."

AOC added that agencies must be reorganized, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "gotta go, ban for-profit detention, create climate refugee status & more."

Rep. Ilhan Omar has supported AOC statements, saying that multiple administrations have made the callous choice to lock up thousands of children seeking refuge in the U.S.

"As long as we see people seeking a better life as 'aliens' instead of fellow human beings, our immigration system will continue to fail us," Omar also tweeted.

Detention Facility For Migrant Children

The child migrant detention facility located in Carrizo Springs, Texas is reopening after the Trump administration used it during the migrant crisis in 2019.

The Washington Post reported that the detention facility is being reopened to accommodate around 700 minor teens after the coronavirus pandemic limited capacity at other facilities.

As of Sunday, data showed that the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) child migrant shelters were at 93 percent of their operational capacity. However, only 53 percent of the total capacity was funded by Congress, NBC News reported.

The report noted that the shelters were receiving an average of 252 new children per day last week, while they were only able to discharge 97.

An HHS official said that the delays were due to the state's weather conditions and delayed flights.

"None of us want to open influx facilities, but even more so, none of us want kids in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) custody for longer than they have to be," the HHS official said on condition of anonymity.

The official added it this is a short-term n immediate stopgap until they can continue to build the licensed facility care provider network and released all the migrant children to proper sponsors.

Experts on the matter said HHS needs to change how they work on the overall system.

Leecia Welch, senior director of child welfare at the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law, said there could have been several policy changes months ago on the part of HHS that could improve "a government-created crisis," according to an Associated Press report.

One of the requirements that have delayed some releases of migrant children is forcing sponsors to pay for airfares. Citing the HHS' current guidelines, the report noted that sponsors could be charged for those flights and required to pay before the government releases the children, even if the government vetted the sponsors.

According to Dr. Amy Cohen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Last One, facilities had told families that they would not release a child unless they specifically go to a particular travel agency and purchase tickets.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended the move to reopen the Carrizo Springs childe migrant detention facility, saying that the administration needs to expand and open more additional facilities due to not having enough space in the existing facilities.

She noted that they would have to follow COVID-19 protocols while doing so, adding that their objective is to move the migrant children quickly "from there to vetted, sponsored families and to places where they can safely be."