ABC News chief White House correspondent Cecilia Marcellina said Thursday that her question to President Joe Biden regarding images of a migrant facility in Donna, Texas, appeared to have perturbed the president at the first press conference of his administration.
"I seem to have struck a nerve," @CeciliaVega says, about her question to Pres. Biden if "those images that have come out of that facility in Donna, TX, are acceptable to him. There was a long pause after I said that."https://t.co/qlVuEpZHPn pic.twitter.com/LJZAAT7o13
— ABC News (@ABC) March 25, 2021
A transcript is as follows:
DAVID MUIR: We heard [Biden] promise transparency moving forward. Pressed on whether or not cameras would be allowed in facilities, he said once he gets his plan up and running he promises transparency. The question is, when will that happen?
CECILIA MARCELLINA: There’s still no answer on that. That really is a big question because the Homeland secretary has talked about transparency, we have pushed the White House more than two dozen times to get into some of these facilities. Just yesterday, they finally allowed a camera inside one of these facilities, but it’s not one that has even reached peak capacity. We saw children playing soccer, we saw children sleep four beds to a room. That’s a stark contract to what I’ve seen.
I just got back from the border last night. There’s a facility in Donna, Texas, that is at more than 1500% capacity. We’re talking about severe, extreme overcrowding. In that facility, you’re seeing children literally piled on top of each other. Lawyers are telling us some of these kids haven’t seen the sun light in days. I seem to have struck a nerve, frankly, when I asked if those images that have come out of that facility in Donna, TX, are acceptable to him. There was a long pause after I said that.
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