Congressman Denied Access to Facility Housing Illegal Immigrant Children

The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday forbade a U.S. congressman from observing federal facilities in his state where hundreds of illegal immigrant children are currently being held.

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R., Okla.) said in a Wednesday news release that HHS staff at a department facility at Fort Sill told him he had to schedule an appointment to see the facilities, which are currently housing up to 1,200 Central American children who recently crossed the southern border illegally.

“There is no excuse for denying a federal representative from Oklahoma access to a federal facility in Oklahoma where unaccompanied children are being held,” Bridenstine said in a statement. “Any member of Congress should have the legal authority to visit a federal youth detention facility without waiting three weeks.”

Up to 1,400 unaccompanied children between the ages of 12 and 17 are expected to be housed at the Fort Sill facility, according to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.).

President Barack Obama has asked Congress for the authority to quickly deport all children who are not accompanied by an adult.

After the U.S. Border Patrol apprehends such children they are handed over to HHS, which houses them in various immigrant shelters such as the one at Fort Sill.

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