The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is expected to visit the Rio Grande Valley on Friday afternoon.
Mayorkas is expected to lead a congressional delegation on a tour of the Customs and Border Protection’s Centralized Processing Center in Donna.
The secretary will be receiving an update on unaccompanied children arriving at the southern border and view conditions at the facility.
The visit follows a walk-through visit granted to local journalists for the first time since the facility opened in February. Border Patrol officials from the RGV sector touted decreased detention levels among unaccompanied children.
Currently, the official COVID-restricted capacity at Donna is about 500, and 900 overall in the sector, Chief Border Patrol Brian Hastings said Thursday. Yet, at its peak this year, the sector held about 5,600 people in custody on April 2. About 4,300 of them were detained at the Central Processing Center in Donna and 3,700 were children.
In late March, photos from inside the center surfaced showing overcrowded conditions. CBP released their own images that emphasized the critical limits they had reached.
The number of children in CBP custody across the southern border has declined significantly.
On March 28, about 5,770 children were in CBP custody. Since then, the numbers steadily decreased, and by May 2, the total number fell to about 600 children.
CBP is still adding capacity to their center in Donna. On Thursday, officials announced they would be adding a third tent that will increase the total holding capacity from about 500 to 625. That is expected to be completed next month.
Mayorkas’ visit will mark the second time he comes to the Rio Grande Valley since he took office.
