Listen to Geraldo In Cleveland, weekdays 9-10am on Newsradio WTAM 1100, also available on 106.9 FM and the Free iheartradio app.
Medical and legal experts continue to raise concerns about the conditions children are being exposed to inside Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities along the border. Dr. Dolly Sevier toured a detention center in McAllen, Texas, last week and told ABC News that children are sleeping on concrete floors, the lights are on 24/7, and there is no access to soap or basic hygiene. She calls the centers "torture facilities" and says every child she interviewed seemed traumatized. In response, CBP tells ABC News they have limited resources but work to provide the best possible care for everyone in their custody -- especially children -- and that all allegations of civil rights abuses or misconduct are taken seriously.
In their infinite wisdom, members of the 116th Congress earmarked $9,000,000 for a fruit fly quarantine program, $65,000,000 for Pacific coastal salmon recovery, and $7,876,000 for fish passage and fish screens.
It seems when it's members are looking for pork barrel money for their districts, the 535 Americans that make up the Senate and House of Representatives can pass legislation pretty quick. If their self gratification is combined with an issue that only a couple dozen people care about, they can move at speeds that would make Usain Bolt stand in awe.
However, the crisis at the southern border doesn't seem like it would provide any pork for anyone in Congress and has turned into one of the biggest issues of 2020 Presidential Campaign. Because this is a hot button issue that won't personally help anyone sitting on Capitol Hill, it will not get fixed- even with a the two week deadline The President announced this weekend.
If the Democrats want to poke the bear and use language like "concentration camps" when describing these underfunded, forgotten facilities, then they should try to actually fix the problem, instead of just campaigning on it.
Listen to Geraldo's "Roadkill" podcast on wtam.com or on the free iheartradio app.
Follow Geraldo on Twitter @GeraldoRivera.