The Trump administration is arguing that it's not required to give migrant children in federal custody toothbrushes and soap. Justice Department lawyers said in federal court last week that conditions in migrant detention facilities meet requirements that detainees be kept in "safe and sanitary" conditions.
However, the judges on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court panel pushed back, wondering how having children sleep on concrete floors in overcrowded cells with nothing more than aluminum foil blankets could satisfy that standard.
The Trump administration is pushing for the Circuit Court to overturn a previous ruling from 2015 that required detainees to be provided with hygiene items like soap, toothbrushes and towels. It claims those requirements weren't included in previous rules that outlined standards for "safe and sanitary" conditions.
- One Texas Republican is calling the migrant detention facilities in his home state the "worst" he's ever seen. Representative Michael McCaul told CBS' Face The Nation that he's visited the facilities over the past 15 years, as a congressman and federal prosecutor, and it's currently the worst it's ever been.
- He agreed with Vice President Pence who says the dangerous, unsanitary conditions in detention centers is due to inaction by Congress. He said at a minimum, Congress must pass humanitarian aid to take care of the children suffering.
Source:Washington Post