Sen. Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel SchatzCDC causes new storm by pulling coronavirus guidance Overnight Health Care: CDC pulls revised guidance on coronavirus | Government watchdog finds supply shortages are harming US response | As virus pummels US, Europe sees its own spike Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral MORE (D-Hawaii) in a Saturday Twitter thread said that he and other senators witnessed "overcrowded quarters" and a "harsh odor" during a visit to facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Schatz tweeted that during the trip to the Texas facilities, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Chuck SchumerPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish MORE (D-N.Y.), he learned that some men went three to five days between showers and were drinking "heavily chlorinated water." The senator also alleged that women told him they were not allowed to make phone calls.

He described a group of teenagers he met as looking "exhausted."

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"They are all fleeing violence. Seeking refuge. This is not how we should be treating them," Schatz tweeted. "The cruelty is the point and it comes from the most powerful person in the world."

Here’s what I saw on the border in Texas today. Conditions were awful. Overcrowded quarters. Harsh odor filled the air. Mylar blankets. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

Spoke to some men through a chain-link fence. Many have been in for more than forty days. They are drinking heavily chlorinated water even though there was running water and bottled water in the facility. 3-5 days between showers. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

Met a bunch of teenagers. Reminded me of my kids. But they looked exhausted. It was the eyes. From Guatemala and Honduras. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

Spoke to around a dozen women. They are not allowed to make phone calls, contrary to official policy. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

They are all fleeing violence. Seeking refuge. This is not how we should be treating them.



I broke down at the end of the day. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

The cruelty is the point and it comes from the most powerful person in the world. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 20, 2019

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official told The Hill in a statement Saturday that the agency uses its "limited resources to provide the best care possible to those in our custody, especially children."

"As [Department of Homeland Security] and CBP leadership have noted numerous times in testimony to Congress and in numerous media engagements that our short-term holding facilities were not designed to hold vulnerable populations," the official said.

The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection for comment on Schatz's tweets.

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According to a DHS statement on the visit, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan was joined by 15 senators to visit the Donna Soft-Sided Processing Facility, a local non-governmental organization, McAllen Border Patrol Station and the Ursula Central Processing Center.

Schumer also decried the conditions as "awful" during a Friday press conference.