LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) – Rep. Joaquin Castro is demanding answers from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, saying migrant families held at the facility are being denied basic medical care.
Advocates and lawmakers have previously criticized the facility for its treatment of migrant families and children. According to the National Coalition to End the Detention of Families and Children, more than 500 minors are currently held there.
Castro said conditions for children inside the facility are getting worse. He said he raised the issue directly with the facility’s warden.
“I very directly told the warden that these folks were being treated like animals, that CoreCivic is a multi-billion dollar company, and that it should not be making money off of the suffering of people like this, and especially without providing them basic medical attention,” Castro said.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement calling the medical care allegations false.
Castro said he will continue to fight for Juan Nicolas, a two-month-old with bronchitis who was deported with his mother after weeks inside the facility.
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