U.S. Senate Dems visit Rio Grande border facility, call conditions ‘inhumane’

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says conditions at a Texas border detention facility are “inhumane.”

Schumer and a group of other Democratic senators, including Oregon’s Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, toured the facility in McAllen on Friday.

Schumer said the tour left him with an awful feeling.

“It’s been a very, very difficult day to see these people, particularly the children, treated in such inhumane conditions. (It) just tears at your heart strings and really makes you feel awful,” Schumer said. “They let us see whatever we wanted to see but we were told that they tried to make things look better. The day before, 400 people were taken out of one facility. … But even with that, it’s awful the conditions that these people are placed in.”

Democratic leaders also spoke with acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan.

Schumer said he was told that about 2 or 3 percent of the migrants are criminals. However, Schumer said the administration is treating them all like criminals.

Standing outside the processing center, Merkley also criticized conditions inside the facility as well as Trump administration programs cracking down on asylum seekers.

“We want them treated with dignity and respect as we would want our family members to be treated,” Merkley said.