MCALLEN, Texas – Vice President Mike Pence led a tour of migrant processing facilities along the Texas-Mexico border.
Pence was joined by Republican senators as they first visited a facility consisting of a series of large white tents.
About 800 people, mostly from Central America, are housed at the tents erected in May to relieve detention overcrowding.
The vice president spoke with adults and children, some of whom said their journey to the U.S. took up to three months.
After the tour, Pence praised the conditions in the facility and the professionalism of the customs and border patrol agents. “Every family that I spoke to told me that they are being well cared for, different than some of the harsh rhetoric that we hear from democrats on capitol hill,” Pence said. “Our customs and border protection are doing their level best to provide compassionate care to these families in a manner the American people would expect.”
Most of the families are in the facility for 24 to 72 hours before being released with a court date.
Officials said they’ll likely be housed by Catholic charities.
Pence later toured another processing facility and held a roundtable with border agents and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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