Reports of inhuman treatment at border facilities prompts judge to order independent monitor

With hundreds of pages of class action testimony in hand detailing inhumane treatment, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles ordered an independent monitor of border facilities in the Rio Grande valley in Texas. She claimed there to be a “disconnect” between the Trump administration’s assessment of the facilities and the hundreds of sworn affidavits from children and parents, ThinkProgress reported.

The inhuman treatment described includes abusive treatment, lack of adequate food and water, and unsanitary conditions.

“It seems like there continue to be persistent problems,” Gee said. “I need to appoint an independent monitor to give me an objective viewpoint about what is going on at the facilities.”

Between processing, transportation and housing immigrants, reports of abuse and unsafe conditions have been made.

“There is no privacy,” a Guatemalan boy named Erick, who was in custody, said. It is dirty and they don’t clean it. “The room is always cold. The guards took my sweater.”

With more than 125 calls placed in the past five years, ProPublica reported sex offenses  against migrant children at many of the shelters.

“If you’re a predator, it’s a gold mine,” Lisa Fortuna, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Medical Center, said in the ProPublica report. “You have full access and then you have kids that have already had this history of being victimized.”

Both sides have until August 10 to agree on an independent monitor, but if an agreement isn’t reached, each will give the judge their suggestion and Gee will make the final decision.