Illegal aliens caught by the Border Patrol while crossing into the United States are complaining that their holding cells are too cold. After traveling long distances to reach the U.S. border, they just can’t handle the harsh temperature of – wait for it – between 70 and 75 degrees.
The Washington Post claims that the “tired and poor” illegal aliens “do a lot of huddling” because of the air conditioning in detention facilities. The Post details the testimonies of multiple women who claim their families had a hard time staying warm.
In an effort to portray illegal aliens as the victims, open-borders advocates have accused the Border Patrol of detaining illegal aliens in “deep freezers” for years. This message was pushed well before the Trump administration, but once again appeared in the mainstream media when Attorney General Jeff Sessions enacted his zero tolerance policy.
A federal inspector determined that the temperatures in most detention facilities were between 70 and 75 degrees. Yet illegal aliens he interviewed told him they were still cold. This included a 4-year-old boy housed in a 76-degree room. That’s a mere two degrees cooler than the U.S. Department of Energy’s recommended setting. Conveniently, however, many news outlets completely avoided mentioning the temperatures recorded by inspectors.
The allegedly freezing conditions illegal aliens supposedly face were a part of lawsuits throughout the Obama administration. In 2015, the open-borders leaning American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and American Immigration Council sued the Border Patrol in part due to detention facility temperatures. That lawsuit remains pending. The Reagan administration dealt with similar issues decades earlier in the Reno v. Flores case that was settled in 1997 pursuant to the so-called “Flores Agreement.”
The Flores Agreement sets out requirements for the detention of illegal alien minors. Part of this agreement includes “adequate temperature control and ventilation.” According to The Washington Post article, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have a Flores Agreement coordinator undertake unannounced inspections.
But in reality, the Border Patrol isn’t operating a taxpayer-funded luxury hotel. It’s running a detention operation that should be focused on the safety of both illegal aliens and CBP staff. Yet poor immigration policies have resulted in an entitlement syndrome so strong that some are now demanding control of the thermostat.