Alexandra Wilkes |Posted: Jan 25, 2020 12:01 AM

What I Saw At Family Immigration Processing Centers In Texas

Earlier this month, I spent a week in Texas touring family immigration processing centers operated by private sector contractors under contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I know that some of what I saw might be difficult for hardened critics to believe. They've painted a picture in their own minds and for others of conditions based on politically-motivated rhetoric rather than facts and first-hand observation on the ground. Here’s what I saw:

Children weren’t in cages. They were in classrooms and on playgrounds.

While touring a facility that was opened under the Obama administration to house migrant families together, I saw children eagerly listening to story time and doing science experiments. They were learning with the help of computers, tablets, and smart boards. From all that they’ve gone through to get there, the kids looked engaged and comfortable. They freely walked throughout the campus with their mothers on foot or were in strollers provided by the facility. There were toys and a library with over 20,000 books in a variety of languages. Kids were visited by Santa Claus on Christmas and got cupcakes on their birthdays. You can’t coach the kind of genuine laughter and smiles I saw in the places that weren’t even part of the tour.

Nobody was drinking out of toilets, but there is an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

To read the rest of the article visit https://townhall.com/columnists/alexandrawilkes/2020/01/25/what-i-saw-at-family-immigration-processing-centers-in-texas-n2560067