On Wednesday, US Sen. Ted Cruz said the Biden administration is attempting to cover up the poor conditions in Texas migrant holding facilities. Cruz and fellow Republican lawmakers Reps. Chip Roy and Nancy Mace held a press conference after spending time with the Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas. The legislators answered questions after speaking about their experiences traveling with Border Patrol agents and seeing the crisis firsthand. Cruz brought up a previous trip he took with 19 senators to the Donna, Texas, facility, and described it as a giant tent city with children packed in without regard for COVID restrictions. Cruz said, “You had children packed in there. They weren’t six feet apart, as you would expect during a panic. They weren’t three feet apart. They weren’t three inches apart”.
Cruz added, “They’re literally packed so close together that they are side by side. There were no beds. There were no cots. There were no mats. They’re sleeping on the floor, children, wrapped up in reflective emergency blankets. They’re packed so tightly there’s no room to move. As I said at the time we were there, the rate of COVID positivity was over 10%”. He also alleged the Biden administration of trying to conceal the poor conditions at the Donna migrant holding facility by not allowing the press inside. Cruz said, “Because the reason the administration didn’t want press there was they didn’t want anyone to know what was happening. Their hope was to cover it up. Their hope is that no one would see the disaster they were creating”.
Cruz said during the press conference that Border Patrol agents are frustrated with the Biden administration’s lacking response to the border crisis and he didn’t know how these guys don’t just say to hell with all of it and leave. Morale has never been lower than right now because the Biden administration won’t let ICE do its job. Roy highlighted the toll the crisis has taken on the City Under Seven Flags. He said, “The state of Texas is under siege and the good people of Laredo are on the front lines of that attack. Where is the president? Where is the president’s administration? We’re here”. Mace weighed in and expressed that she was shocked when she experienced the border. Laredo marked the next stop on Cruz and Roy’s trip around Texas to learn more from local officials and stakeholders about how the border crisis is affecting them.