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The Biden administration for the first time Tuesday allowed journalists inside its main border detention facility for migrant children, revealing a severely overcrowded tent structure where more than 4,000 people, including children and families, were crammed into a space intended for 250 and the youngest were kept in a large play pen with mats on the floor for sleeping. With thousands of children and families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks and packing facilities, President Joe Biden has been under pressure to bring more transparency to the process. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowed two journalists from The Associated Press and a crew from CBS to tour the facility in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the nation’s busiest corridor for illegal crossings. (Spagat and Merchant, 3/31)

As President Joe Biden’s administration grapples with how to house thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, advocates say ending a long-standing practice of separating children like Leonardo from caretaking relatives would help reduce overcrowding in U.S. government custody. Under U.S. immigration law, families are narrowly defined as children and their parents or legal guardians. Children separated from grandparents, aunts, older siblings and other relatives are classified as “unaccompanied” and sent to shelters or foster care overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) until they can be released to a vetted sponsor, usually a parent or close family member. (Cooke and Rosenberg, 3/30)

Officials say 82 of the nearly 750 migrant children staying at the San Diego Convention Center have tested positive for COVID-19. The unaccompanied minors are tested for the coronavirus before they leave for San Diego, when they get here, and every three days after their arrival. (3/30)