A growing list of 2020 Democrat candidates are visiting a youth migrant shelter in Florida, with some – such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) – visiting the facility hours before the first Democrat presidential debate in Miami.
The Homestead youth migrant shelter is less than an hour away from the Adrienne Arsht Center, where the debates will be held Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Warren was one of the first candidates on the scene, surprising many after telling a town hall audience Tuesday that she planned to visit the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children ahead of the debate Wednesday.
“We have to shut down that facility and shut it down now,” Warren told the audience.
Yesterday at my town hall in Miami, I got asked an important question: Would I go to the Homestead detention center to shine a light on what's happening? The answer is yes. I'll be there today and I hope you'll join me. pic.twitter.com/gIAwNywrn7
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 26, 2019
As promised, she made a grand appearance donning a trucker hat reading, “Homestead.”
There are a lot of different ways that we get in the fight. And one of them is that you show up. I'm at the Homestead detention center today and I hope you'll be watching. https://t.co/vzXqUlaiIM
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 26, 2019
Warren is here and up on a ladder across the street from Homestead — she is waving to children inside that she can see above the wall pic.twitter.com/LOdR52cFJK
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) June 26, 2019
She tried to gain access to the facility but failed.
Elizabeth Warren talks to the press after she tried and failed to enter Homestead, Florida facility housing migrant children pic.twitter.com/BwVshkxAjr
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 26, 2019
With that, her competitors are promising to visit the facility as well.
Beto O’Rourke (D). Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are expected to visit Homestead on Thursday, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), Julián Castro (D), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Marianne Williamson will visit Friday.
Tmrw will be interesting. @Alyssa_Milano will pass the Homestead detention center in the AM, then @SenWarren and @SenSanders’ wife, @janeosanders. Thursday: @BilldeBlasio, @BetoORourke and @TulsiGabbard. Friday: @marwilliamson.
Let’s see if anybody makes it inside. @MiamiHerald
— Monique O. Madan (@MoniqueOMadan) June 26, 2019
Just in – @PeteButtigieg on Friday will join the growing list of 2020 candidates visiting the Homestead detention center in Florida, a campaign official tells me
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 26, 2019
New — Kamala Harris is going to be going to the Homestead migrant detention facility on Friday morning now too. Elizabeth Warren is going there today.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 26, 2019
NEW: @amyklobuchar’s campaign says the Senator will visit the Homestead Migrant Detention Center at 2:30pm today ahead of tonight’s debate
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) June 26, 2019
This Friday, @JulianCastro will visit the Homestead detention facility in Florida with @DebbieforFL.
Julián was the first candidate with a comprehensive immigration platform—calling for the elimination of private detention facilities, and detention of families and children.
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) June 26, 2019
The list continues to grow by the hour, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reportedly jumping on board as well.
Per office of @DebbieforFL, @JulianCastro and @KamalaHarris have RSVP'd to travel with her to the Homestead shelter Friday. Likely the candidates will not be allowed in due to 2-weeks notice policy
— David Smiley (@NewsbySmiley) June 26, 2019
And @SenGillibrand https://t.co/ncziArKYc1
— David Smiley (@NewsbySmiley) June 26, 2019
Joe Biden (D) told a voter early in June that he was trying to set up a visit to Homestead, but there is no word on his plans as of yet.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), however, beat all of his competitors to the punch, visiting the facility Monday and calling it a “privatized prison.”
Left-wing actress turned activist Alyssa Milano visited the facility Wednesday morning and live-streamed her experience. She tried to gain entry but ultimately failed to do so.
As Breitbart News previously reported, the migrant youths – formally called Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) – typically spend an average of 36 days at the facility.
Most of the UAC teenagers at the center will be quickly sent to “sponsors” after officials have checked the potential sponsors for possible criminality, such as forced labor, prostitution, drug selling, and MS-13 links. The average stay is just 36 days, according to a June 19 HHS report.
However, it is not so straightforward. Many of the sponsors are family members or fellow illegal immigrants who “have paid cartel-linked coyotes to deliver their teenagers to the Homestead camp, via the border agencies,” Breitbart News reported.
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