President Donald Trump defended Tuesday the treatment of migrant children apprehended at the border, despite the increasing volume of individuals crossing into the United States.

“I am very concerned,” Trump said when asked by reporters at the White House on Tuesday about the conditions of the holding centers.

“They are much better than they were under President Obama by far,” Trump replied.

He urged Democrats to move quickly to pass more government funding for humanitarian aid to help the children.

“A lot of these young children come from places that you don’t even want to know about,” Trump said.

The president noted that drug cartels and coyotes were taking advantage of young children to help them cross the border.

“It’s a form of slavery, it’s horrible what they’re doing to young children,” he said.

Trump thanked Mexico for stepping up to help enforce the borders, sending 15,000 troops.

“I just want to thank Mexico, they’ve really done a great job,” Trump said. “We appreciate what they are doing.”

The president again asked Democrats to help close the asylum loopholes that were encouraging migrants to cross into the United States for economic reasons.

“People want to flow up to the United States, but you just can’t do it that way, you have to do it legally,” he said.