US migrant camp 'kids feel like they're in prison'

An investigation by the BBC has found over 2,000 migrant children are being detained in a camp in the Texan desert that's been ridden with disease, overcrowded, and plagued by a shortage of clean clothes and medical care for the children.

The camp at Fort Bliss in El Paso consists of at least 12 tents – some of which hold hundreds of teenage children.

Staff working there say that illnesses such as Covid, flu, strep throat and lice have affected hundreds of children since it was set up in March.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which employs private contractors to help run the camp, did not respond to specific allegations but says in a public statement that it is "providing required standards of care for children such as clean and comfortable sleeping quarters, meals, toiletries, laundry, educational and recreational activities, and access to medical services."

Reporter: Hilary Andersson

Produced and edited by Sofia Bettiza

23 June 2021

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