Democratic lawmakers toured the southern border yesterday and since that visit, have been quite vocal about what they saw. None more so than New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who says CPB harassed her and forced women being detained to drink water from a toilet.
This was in fact the type of toilet we saw in the cell.
Except there was just one, and the sink portion was not functioning – @AyannaPressley smartly tried to open the faucet, and nothing came out.
So the women were told they could drink out of the bowl. https://t.co/rcu9Rt6B2x
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019
Most of their phones were taken away upon their arrival, but according to AOC, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, smuggled a device in to capture some of the images of the conditions in the detention center.
Members of Congress had to surrender their phones before today’s CBP trip.
But @JoaquinCastrotx was able to get a device in. This photo is of the women we spoke to.
We asked their permission to photograph – they said yes, please share what’s happening. https://t.co/4ZhOMlEBVA
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019
Even if they let you in, these women told us CBP did a lot of “cleaning up” before we arrived.
They were moved into that room from outside tents before our arrival. They said they’d gone 15 days w/o a shower, & were allowed to start bathing 4 days ago (when visit was announced). https://t.co/gozTUeaWa5
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 2, 2019
Here’s another photo from inside taken by @JoaquinCastrotx, where we’re trying to comfort women trapped in cells.
This woman was telling me about her daughters who were taken from her – she doesn’t know where they’ve taken them.
We held & listened to them. They were distraught. pic.twitter.com/ca1GwKfDfU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 2, 2019
Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who is Muslim, gave a speech outside the center and counter protesters chanted “pork” at her.
.@AyannaPressley meanwhile wasn’t having any of it. pic.twitter.com/kY8PMm2fjz
— Jonathan M. Katz✍🏻 (@KatzOnEarth) July 1, 2019
AOC says the officers working at the facilities were bullies and they were upset she “exposed their inhumane behavior.”
And to these CBP officers saying they felt “threatened” by me –
They were literally discussing making a GoFundMe for an officer who attacked my on my tour.
They confiscated my phone, and they were all armed. I’m 5’4”.
They’re just upset I exposed their inhumane behavior.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 2, 2019