Sen. John Barrasso Says He Was Told to Delete Photos From Border Facilities

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Apr 05, 2021 03:00 AM EDT

Senator John Barrasso said on Sunday that Republican senators were instructed by officials to delete the photos they took inside migrant facilities during a recent visit to the U.S.-Mexico border.

The GOP senator from Wyoming has also slammed the Biden administration over the conditions inside migrant facilities, where children are being packed "like sardines," New York Post reported.

It can be recalled that last month, Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar provided photos to media outlets, hoping that it will raise awareness amid the media restriction at the time. The White House earlier said that the media restriction was implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

John Barrasso on Photos of Migrant Facilities

"This is both a humanitarian crisis and a national security crisis," the senator said in a Fox News interview as he described the situation at the border.

John Barrasso added that the number of children in migrant facilities at present is the highest in the history of unaccompanied minors who are" currently in captivity."

John Barrasso was among the Republicans who went to the border last weekend with Senator Ted Cruz's delegation, Mail Online reported.

Among the 18 senators who went to the border, John Barrasso said no one complied with the Biden administration officials' directives to delete the photos.

"No one did. You've seen the video coming out of all of these kids crammed together under the foil blankets, huddling together... They are crammed in like sardines," the senator noted, adding that this is what the Biden administration tries to hide from the public.

Health organizations are still pushing people to wear masks and adhere to appropriate physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 despite the vaccine rollout.

Cruz and the delegation's other members who went to the borders have also made similar claims about the order to delete the photos. The basis of the order is that the delegation might violate the children's privacy. However, the senators have released the photos with faces of the children migrants obscured.

Unaccompanied Children in Migrant Facilities

Apart from the issue of unaccompanied children congesting inside the migrant facilities, Barrasso also said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is only testing migrants for COVID-19 when they leave the facility to be transferred to the custody of other government-run centers.

"They've all been exposed, and then they're sent all across the country," said Barrasso adding that the situation is a real tragedy. "We're not sure what variant of the coronavirus they are carrying," the senator noted.

John Barrasso added that the CBP is doing instant tests and those who tested positive for the disease are just moved to one side of the courtyard.

President Joe Biden has denied that his border policies have driven a massive surge of migrants along the southern border. But the Republicans continued to blame Biden's policies for "crisis" on the border.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has approved the use of Camp Roberts in California to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children.