得克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特敦促联邦政府关闭一个临时设施，该设施关押了数十名囚犯流动儿童在圣安东尼奥，在虐待和忽视的报告之后。
艾伯特在周三的新闻发布会上宣布，他已经命令德克萨斯州公共安全部和德克萨斯州流浪者队调查在圣安东尼奥的音乐会和体育场馆弗里曼体育馆设立的联邦政府运营的无人陪伴未成年人设施内的指控。这位共和党州长说，州官员已经收到了投诉，其中包括性侵工作人员不足，儿童全天不吃饭，新冠肺炎检测呈阳性的儿童没有与呈阴性的儿童分开。
没有提供关于指控的进一步细节。
艾伯特形容该设施是“健康和安全的噩梦”，指责乔·拜登总统的边境政策和缺乏规划移民流增加。自1月20日上任以来，拜登扭转了许多有争议的观点移居他的前任唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)实施的政策，包括立即驱逐无人陪伴的儿童和青少年的做法。然而，移民是由许多因素驱动的，拜登政策的确切影响尚不清楚。
艾伯特在一份声明中说:“拜登政府开放了边境，但未能为跨境孤身儿童的涌入做好计划，现在我们面临着最大的恐惧——对虐待和忽视儿童的指控。”“我呼吁拜登政府关闭这个设施，我指示民主党和德州游骑兵队立即开始调查这些指控。拜登总统的灾难性决定导致了这场危机，他的政府现在必须采取行动保护这些儿童，确保边境安全，结束这场危机。”
贝萨尔县专员丽贝卡·克莱-弗洛雷斯(Rebeca Clay-Flores)曾以民选民主党官员和志愿者的身份进入该设施，她说，孩子们每天有三顿饭和两顿小吃，任何新冠肺炎检测呈阳性的人都被安置在与其他孩子分开的地方。克莱-弗洛雷斯在新闻发布会后与艾伯特一起参观了该设施，后来告诉记者，她希望州长在“他将儿童政治化”之前就这样做了。
雅培离开后，克莱-弗洛雷斯告诉记者:“当我几次进入那里时，我看到那里人员充足，孩子们非常高兴，也非常兴奋。”。“这不是一个政治问题。这是关于应该得到成人保护的儿童。”
这是该州官员第一次宣布他们正在一个紧急取水口联邦政府在德克萨斯州迅速开放，因为美国正在努力应对涌入其南部边境的中美洲移民的激增。1月至2月间，试图越境的儿童和家庭数量增加了100%以上。与此同时，根据美国海关和边境保护局上月公布的统计数据，仅试图越境的儿童人数就跃升61%，达到9400多人，是2019年春季以来的最高月度总数。
最初，500名13至17岁的男孩独自抵达边境，于3月29日被从埃尔帕索乘坐公共汽车送往圣安东尼奥的弗里曼体育馆。截至周一，这个临时场所关押了1370名无人陪伴的未成年人。该设施有能力容纳多达2500名儿童，他们最终被转移到长期庇护所，根据圣安东尼奥美国广播公司KSAT分公司。
Texas investigating child abuse allegations at temporary migrant facility, governor says
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has urged the federal government to shut down a temporary facility that is holding scores ofmigrant childrenin San Antonio, following reports of abuse and neglect.
Abbott announced during a press conference Wednesday that he has ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to investigate the allegations inside the federally-run unaccompanied minor facility set up at the Freeman Coliseum, a concert and sports venue in San Antonio. The Republican governor said state officials have received complaints that include reports ofsexual assault, insufficient staffing, children not eating throughout the day and children who have tested positive for COVID-19 not being physically separated from those who have tested negative.
Further details on the allegations were not provided.
Abbott described the facility as a "health and safety nightmare," blaming President Joe Biden's border policies and lack of planning forincreased migration flows. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Biden has reversed many of the controversialimmigrationpolicies that his predecessor, Donald Trump, put in place, including the practice of immediately expelling unaccompanied children and teenagers. However, migration is driven by many factors, and the exact impact of Biden's policies is unclear.
"The Biden administration opened the borders and failed to plan for the influx of unaccompanied children crossing the border, and now we are faced with our worst fears -- allegations of child abuse and neglect," Abbott said in a statement. “I am calling on the Biden administration to close this facility, and I am directing the DPS and the Texas Rangers to immediately begin investigating these allegations. President Biden’s disastrous decisions caused this crisis, and his administration must act now to protect these children, secure the border and end this crisis.”
Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, who has been inside the facility as both an elected Democratic official and a volunteer, said the children are offered three meals plus two snacks a day and that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is placed in a separate area from other children. Clay-Flores toured the facility with Abbott after the press conference, later telling reporters that she wished the governor had done so before "he politicized children."
“What I saw when I went in there on several occasions, it was well-staffed, the children are very happy and very excited to be here,” Clay-Flores told reporters after Abbott left. “This is not a political issue. This is about children who deserve protection from adults.”
It's the first time that state officials announced they are investigating such allegations at one of theemergency intake sitesthat the federal government has rapidly opened in Texas, as the United States grapples with a surge in Central American migrants arriving at its southern border. The number of children and families attempting to cross the border increased by more than 100% between January and February. Meanwhile, the amount of children trying to cross the border alone jumped by 61% to over 9,400, the highest monthly total since the spring of 2019, according to statistics released last month by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Initially, 500 boys aged 13 to 17 who had arrived at the border alone were bused from El Paso to the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on March 29. As of Monday, the makeshift site was holding 1,370 unaccompanied minors. The facility has the capacity to house up to 2,500 children, who are eventually transferred to longer-term shelters, according toSan Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT.
