US official: ‘Much better’ conditions at border for migrants

TORNILLO, Texas – A senior Trump administration official says that with fewer immigrants and more detention space, people apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border won’t be subject to the squalid, overcrowded conditions criticized earlier this year.

Kevin McAleenan, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security, thanked Congress Thursday during a tour of a new Border Patrol facility in West Texas, saying the money helped “create a much better situation.”

The tent facility in Tornillo, Texas, is about 40 miles (64.37 kilometres) southeast of El Paso and can hold 2,500 migrants. It had 32 on Thursday after being open for 48 hours.

Another tent camp in Tornillo for children was closed in January.

Around 82,000 migrants were detained in July, down 20 per cent from June but double the same time last year.