Rallies Across Southland Tuesday Demand Closure Of Migrant Detention Facilities

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Protesters gathered Tuesday outside congressional offices across the Southland as part of a national day of action demanding the closure of migrant detention facilities.

At about noon, the "Close the Camps" rallies organized by the advocacy group MoveOn began at offices across the Southland, including those of U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff in Burbank, Brad Sherman in Van Nuys, Gil Cisneros in Fullerton and and Katie Porter in Irvine.

Hundreds of demonstrators were outside Rep. Karen Bass' office in the 4900 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Mid-Wilshire.

The protesters say the detention centers are overcrowded and have inhumane conditions.

"It's just an outrage, it's just horrible, there's no justification for it all," protester Kathleen Smith told CBS2.

"I'm 67-years-old and I can't believe I'm here again," she added.

They also demonstrating against the controversial family separation policy which has become a political lightning rod.

"They scream for their mommies, and there's no mommies there," Hugo Saenz, a local protester, said. "Our children need to be held. They need to be comforted, and what they're going through is just evil."

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General outlined dangerous conditions and overcrowding at border detention facilities in Texas. The report stated that in one case, more than 50 women were crammed into a cell designed to hold 40 boys. In another case, 71 men were packed inside a cell built for 41 people.

"We are concerned that overcrowding and prolonged detention represent an immediate risk to the health and safety of DHS agents and officers, and to those detained," the report stated.

The protests came one day after a congressional delegation visited some of the facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border and reported migrants being held in inhumane conditions, including some being forced to drink water from a toilet bowl.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief of Operations Brian Hastings claimed that charge was untrue.

Last week, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner John Sanders resigned amid renewed scrutiny over the treatment of children in at migrant detention centers.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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