"The Biden administration has been an abject failure when it comes to ensuring the safety of unaccompanied minors who cross our border," Abbott said in a press release on Friday. "The conditions unaccompanied minors face in these federally run facilities is unacceptable and inhumane."
Abbott said the water at the federally run facility for migrant children in the city of Midland was not proven safe prior to opening.
In addition, Abbott said there is an outbreak at the federal care facility housing migrant children in the Texas city of Carrizo Springs.
Texas health officials have been deployed to investigate and contain the outbreak at the Carrizo Springs facility and have notified the facility in Midland to address the water issues, Abbott said.
The US Health and Human Services (HHS) department said there are about 769 migrant teenagers in the Carrizo Springs facility. The agency noted that 121 children have been released so far and all of the migrants are male.
Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows 9,457 unaccompanied migrant children were apprehended at the southern border in February, which is a substantial increase from the 5,858 unaccompanied migrant children apprehended in January. At least 29,729 migrant children have been apprehended at the US-Mexico border in the period from October to February. Overall, 100,441 migrants were apprehended entering the United States illegally in the month of February.
