Congressman Denied Access to Immigration Facility

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) — A Republican congressman from Oklahoma says he was denied access to the Department of Health and Human Services facility in Fort Still, Okla., on Tuesday.

“There is no excuse for denying a Federal Representative from Oklahoma access to a federal facility in Oklahoma where unaccompanied children are being held,” Rep. Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday. According to the congressman, he identified himself as a U.S. representative and was told that the earliest he could set up an appointment to enter the facility was July 21.

Fort Sill is one of three facilities in the U.S. that currently houses unaccompanied alien children.

In a statement, Bridenstine noted that the facility has been surrounded by a new fence with material to obscure the view and every gate was chained shut. “What are they trying to hide?” Bridenstine asked, saying that he “would like to know to whom these children are being released.”

Under current policy, unaccompanied children are transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs  Enforcement after their apprehension and then placed at HHS facilities until they can be released to a “sponsor” in the U.S.


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