Members of Congress from New York and New Jersey got into an immigration detention center in New Jersey Sunday, where they met with arrested immigrants separated from their families.
Seven Democrats made the surprise Father’s Day visit to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility in Elizabeth, NJ, where they were finally allowed in after more than an hour of wrangling with authorities.
“It was shameful what we heard inside,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn). “There was a father who spoke about his young daughter being ripped away from him at 3 a.m. in the morning. This is the indecency of this administration. This is the child abuse that the Trump administration is perpetrating.”
The pols said they met with five men arrested at the southern border, who are seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing violence at home. Two of them had their young children taken away from them, and one was separated from his 7-year-old brother.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said authorities wouldn’t allow the members of Congress to bring cell phones, cameras or pens into the facility, but he snuck in a pen anyway to write down the stories of detainees, none of whom were named.
