US border chief resigns amid outcry over migrant child detainees
WASHINGTON : The acting head of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency announced his resignation on Tuesday.
This was amid public outcry over alarming detention conditions of migrant children in Texas.
Mr John Sanders, appointed to the post just two months ago, said in a letter obtained by several US media outlets that he planned to step down as acting CBP commissioner on July 5.
Mr Sanders' departure coincides with the revelation of unsanitary detention conditions for children at an overcrowded Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, a sign of the increasing strain on resources due to soaring numbers of arrests at the US-Mexico border.
The conditions at the centre in Clint were revealed by a team of lawyers, doctors and others who visited the facility.
Nearly 250 children were transferred out of Clint on Monday but a CBP official said on Tuesday that about 100 were being sent back there.
"The three-year old before me had matted hair, a hacking cough, muddy pants, and eyes that fluttered closed with fatigue," wrote Ms Clara Long, a researcher with Human Rights Watch who accompanied the team.
"Children at Clint told us they don't have regular access to showers or clean clothes, with some saying they hadn't been allowed to bathe over periods of weeks and don't have regular access to soap," she said.
Us President Donald Trump did not ask Mr Sanders to step down but "knew there were going to be changes there".
According to The Washington Post, Mr Trump plans to name Mark Morgan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to replace Mr Sanders. - AFP
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