In response to the report, Carla Provost, the chief of the Border Patrol, called the posts “completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see—and expect—from our agents day in and day out.” But members of Congress, among others, argue that the Facebook group not only illustrates systemic problems within the agency, but also helps complete the picture of a growing humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

I spoke with Dean about what she witnessed in the two Border Patrol facilities, the treatment of the immigrant detainees by agents, and what she sees as Congress’s role in addressing the situation. Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Elaine Godfrey: You’re not a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, nor do you represent a border district. What made you want to join this delegation and tour these facilities?

Madeleine Dean: I’ve been looking for a way to get my eyes on it, to be close to it, to actually see for myself what our government is doing. I wanted to be close up to it so I could speak with some authority about the granular truth on the ground. These are human beings simply trying to find a better life, and they have been caged like either animals or very bad criminals.

I’m stunned that we have done this to children, because the lingering effects of this will be lifelong. The harm that this will do to the psyche of children in terms of trust and bonding, and just simple kindness and humanity. It’s haunting to think about. Our government has done this—not Democrats, not this majority in this Congress. This administration.

Godfrey: Can you walk me through what it was like getting into these detention facilities?

Dean: In El Paso, we were met by a tremendous number of Border Patrol [officers] and our cohort sat down at a meeting area.

Right away they said, Please leave your phones behind or give them to staff. No electronic devices in the facility. In the interest of time, no communication with the detainees at all. With that, [Representative Joaquin] Castro [of Texas] literally stood up and said, We’re members of Congress here to investigate. We expect to be able to speak to folks here.

Very quickly it came up—the grotesque reporting of the Facebook group. I told [the officers] I was quite disappointed that they would not have started [their remarks] with that. They said, That was not reflective of us—we know that it was none of the management. Of course, I don’t know how they could know that, because they claimed not to know [in the first place] about a Facebook group of 9,500 members and former employees. They said they will do an internal investigation. We assured them Congress will do its own investigation.

Godfrey: What happened next?

Dean: We walked into the facility, outside this meeting room. Picture sort of a glassed-in area where the Border Patrol folks work at stations and desks. They can look out through the glass onto the floor and into the cells where people were being held. The guards never wanted us to speak to the women [in the cells but] we went down onto the floor area, and eventually into a cell of 15 women.