BROWNSVILLE, Texas — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley was turned away for no apparent reason when he tried to enter a federal detention center holding children separated from their parents.
"I was barred entry," he said in a tweet. "Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor — he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us.
"Children should never be ripped from their families and held in secretive detention centers," he continued.
He specifically singled out Attorney General Jeff Sessions for moving forward with a Trump administration administrative decision to implement the separation policy.
"President Trump should end this policy immediately," Merkley said, "and any Republican who claims to embrace ‘family values’ must step up to oppose this cruel anti-family agenda.”
He says hundreds of children were being held at the facility, many separated from their parents.
In a Facebook Live video, Merkley arrives at the front door of the Unaccompanied Minors Shelter. The windows of the facility, which used to be a Walmart, are blacked out. The only means of communication is an intercom box that also includes a phone number.
A worker arrives at the scene and refuses him entry. He was told that a supervisor would come out and speak with him. That never happened.
Another worker provided the number of a press liaison to Merkley. After officers arrived, he patiently explained immigration policy involving parents and children to one of them. He then walked away shortly after after being asked to leave the property.
The White House issued the following statement:
“Senator Merkley is irresponsibly spreading blatant lies about routine immigration enforcement while smearing hardworking, dedicated law enforcement officials at ICE and CBP.”
Newsweek reports that the CEO of the company that oversees the children's facility made $770,860 in "reportable compensation from the organization" in 2015.
That non-profit company, Southwest Key Programs, has been awarded $310,824,288 in the current fiscal year by the U.S Department of Health & Human Services, Newsweek reports.
The ACLU was with Merkley when he approached the building. Videotape of the episode was widely via human rights groups social media accounts.
Earlier, Merkley visited the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station at McAllen, Texas where families are being separated when entering the U.S.