Democrat Cuellar says migrants being released into US without notices to appear in court

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, explained on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday what prompted him to release photos of a crowded migrant holding center in Texas and said many migrant families are being released into the U.S. without a notice to appear in a court. 

The Democrat made the comment one day after the photos of migrants in a crowded border facility in Donna, Texas were released by his office as the Biden administration limits media access to the southwestern border.  

The migrants, who are in clear pens akin to cages, are seen sleeping on pads on the floor with aluminum blankets. In some instances, it appears that dozens are sharing individual pens. Most appear to be wearing masks.

When asked why he released the photos Cuellar, who has toured some facilities, said it was for the "same reason I did in 2014 when I released photos of very packed facilities." 

"Keep in mind this is a Border Patrol facility. They’re not equipped to handle young people and families. They were set up to handle adults," he continued. "And I think under the pandemic it makes it even more important to understand why this is important to understand what's happening at this facility."

"The administration just has to move them faster into the Health and Human Services facilities," Cuellar went on to say.

He also noted that in one weekend about 150 migrants were released "without a notice to appear," which he called "unprecedented."

"How do you release somebody to the country without a notice to appear?" he asked, noting that those released were not adults or unaccompanied children, but family units.

He pointed out that there are "different facilities," including "what we call the Border Patrol facilities that are supposed to be holding people up to 72 hours."