Grijalva cancels Nogales facility tour after entourage is turned away

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was scheduled to tour the Nogales processing center in southern Arizona on Monday where hundreds of unaccompanied minors are being held. However, he refused to tour the facility after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents denied entrance to several religious leaders who were with him.

Grijalva released a statement on Tuesday, saying the tour was “intended to shed light on a facility whose operation has raised broad concerns for the safety and well-being of vulnerable children.”

“Being turned away only invites more questions about the appropriateness of this process, instead of providing answers,” he said.

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The Nogales processing center is a warehouse that’s currently housing as many as 1,100 unaccompanied minors ranging from ages 3 to 17 years old. It was set up to help with the tide of unaccompanied minors coming to the United States from Central American countries, like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Humanitarian concerns were raised when photos surfaced last week, showing unaccompanied children sleeping on the floor inside the Nogales facility. Another set of photos released last week by the office of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) also show unaccompanied minors caged and crammed inside small rooms at the Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.

“We need transparency here,” Grijalva insisted. “We need to know the extent to which officials are properly using the resources available within the community. Trust in this process is essential, and forbidding community leaders who work with the immigrant community and understand the needs of these children will raise skepticism about the process.”

In a statement to the Arizona Daily Star, CBP officials said the agency has a responsibility to protect the privacy and identity of people in its custody.

“All persons requesting to visit a CBP facility must demonstrate a clear, concise purpose for requiring access and must submit their request in advance for approval,” CBP stated.

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CBP has denied members of the media access to the Nogales processing center over the last few weeks. But on Tuesday, the agency reversed its policy and allowed reporters to tour the facility, according to the Tucson Sentinel.

Reporters were told they could not use any recording devices or ask questions during the tours. And only pool journalists were permitted to take photos. According to the Tucson Sentinel, CBP stated that the rules are meant to “protect the safety and privacy of the children.”

Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, who criticized CBP for barring the media from accessing the Nogales facility, welcomed the news. In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two Arizona senators said it is “in the public’s interest to know the actual conditions in that facility.”

“We strongly urge CBP to be transparent and accommodate all reasonable requests for media access to the facility, while ensuring the privacy and safety of the individuals being held there,” McCain and Flake stated.