The inspector general for the US Department of Homeland Security talked of "dangerous overcrowding" as photos emerged of the conditions migrants had to suffer in detention facilities in Texas.

 "We encourage the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take immediate steps to alleviate dangerous overcrowding and prolonged detention of children and adults in the Rio Grande Valley," acting DHS Inspector General Jennifer Costello said in a memorandum to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan. 

Costello said staff from her office had toured five Border Patrol holding facilities in Texas's Rio Grande Valley in early June and observed "serious overcrowding and prolonged detention of unaccompanied alien children, families, and single adults."

"Specifically, Border Patrol was holding about 8,000 detainees in custody at the time of our visit, with 3,400 held longer than the 72 hours generally permitted," Costello said. "Of those 3,400 detainees, Border Patrol held 1,500 for more than 10 days."

 "Border Patrol's custody data indicates that 826 (31%) of the 2,669 children at these facilities had been held longer than the 72 hours generally permitted," she added.

Democratic lawmakers visit

Democratic lawmakers toured migrant detention facilities on Monday.

According to Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, women were instructed to drink from a toilet and described the setting as akin to a "concentration camp."

The Congresswoman tweeted: "These are concentration camps. According to concentration camp experts, people begin to die due to overcrowding, neglect, and shortage of resources. We saw all three of those signs on our trip yesterday. Another person died yesterday. And those are the deaths we know about."

Her words were refuted in Washington. "I don't know what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is talking about," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in an interview with Fox Business Network, calling members of Customs and Border Protection "some of the bravest men and women on the planet."

"They provided three meals a day to people who are here illegally and unlawfully, two snacks in between," Gidley added.

US President Donald Trump has promised to be tough on immigration, both prior to his election and as part of his 2020 re-election campaign. His promise of building a wall across the southern border has yet to come to fruition.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ceded to Trump's demands to stop migrants from Central America attempting to enter the US illegally as part of a trade agreement

jsi/jm (Reuters, AFP)

Every evening, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.