New drone photos show the massive scale and expansion of a temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas where migrants are packed into soft-sided tents at the border.
More than 4,000 migrants are currently being held at the facility in the tent pods, which are each said to contain between 500 and 600 migrants - despite being built for just 250-260 people at a time, according to Axios.
Occupancy is even more limited to a max of 32 people at a time under current COVID-19 restrictions, according to the CDC.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Customs and Border Patrol officials for comment.
Drone photos show the rapid expansion of tents across the Texas facility.
New drone photos show the massive scale and expansion of a temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas where migrants are packed into soft-sided tents at the border. Protection temporary processing facility, are seen in an aerial view in Donna on January 29
An aerial view shows the facility in Donna, Texas on March 23 as it expands to hold more migrants. More than 4,000 migrants are currently being held at the facility in the tent pods, which are each said to contain between 500 and 600 migrants - although they were reportedly built for just 250-260 people at a time
An aerial view shows the facility in Donna, Texas on March 31 as it continues to expand to hold more migrants. Occupancy is even more limited to a max of 32 people at a time under current COVID-19 restrictions, according to the CDC
An aerial view shows the facility in Donna, Texas on April 14 as it continues to expand to hold more migrants
Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar told Axios in March that the facility has eight pods each with a 260-person occupancy but that one pod held more than 400 unaccompanied male minors as of March 21.
At the time, Cuellar also provided the outlet with photos from the facilities showing an inside look at their conditions as the Biden administration has restricted media coverage at housing facilities.
The new Fox News drone photos appear to indicate that the facility has expanded in recent weeks as large numbers of migrants have been detained at the border. It now appears as if there have been at least two additional pods added to the facility.
Video footage from Project Veritas on April 3 appears to show the pods under construction as the facility expanded. Project Veritas is a far-right activist group known to edit videos deceptively after performing secret recordings 'undercover.'
Young minors lie inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, in Donna, Texas on March 30
Personnel processing families and unaccompanied alien children in the custody of the US Border Patrol, at the temporary processing facility, in Donna, Texas on March 17
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary processing center is seen in this aerial view in Donna, Texas on March 15
Migrants are seen in a green area outside of a soft-sided detention center after they were taken into custody March 19, 2021, in Donna, Texas
Migrants are seen in a green area outside of a soft-sided detention center after they were taken into custody on March 19 in Donna, Texas
A temporary Customs and Border Protection processing center is seen from a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter on March 23, 2021 in Donna, Texas
The CBP had announced the opening of the facility in press release on February 9, noting that its 'primary purpose is to safely process individuals in U.S. Border Patrol custody.'
'The facility is weatherproof, climate-controlled, and is expected to provide ample areas for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene. The new facility's design is a considerable upgrade from previous soft-sided facilities,' CBP said in the release.
According to the agency, the 185,000 square foot facility sits on 40 acres and was built to alleviate capacity demands while the permanent Centralized Processing Center in McAllen is undergoing renovation.
The CBP noted in the release that the agency has 'seen a steady increase in border encounters from the Western Hemisphere' since April 2020, when former President Donald Trump was in office.
Young unaccompanied migrants, from ages 3 to 9, watch television inside a playpen at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, Texas on March 30
A migrant and her daughter have their biometric data entered at the intake area of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security holding facility in Donna, Texas on March 30
Children play soccer at a small makeshift field at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility in Donna, Texas
Minors are seen inside a pod at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility in Donna on March 30
Minors are seen stepping over each other while wrapped in emergency blankets at the Donna facility on March 30
Young children look out from inside a pod at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility in Donna on March 30
A young migrant waits for his turn to take a shower at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility in Donna on March 30
A border patrol car pulls into the temporary immigration facility in Donna, Texas on March 24
The temporary immigration facility in Donna, Texas on Wednesday, March 24
The agency later issued another press release after imagery from the Donna facility started to come out in the news, noting that the agency would provide photos and videos 'for public transparency and accountability.'
'CBP continues to transfer unaccompanied minors to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as quickly and efficiently as possible after they are apprehended on the Southwest Border,' the agency said.
'In order to protect the health and safety of our workforce and those in our care we continue to discourage external visitors in our facilities.'
The Administration for Children and Families, of the HHS Department, announced in a press release on Monday, obtained by WCBK, that the Starr Commonwealth Emergency Intake Site in Albion, Michigan received its first of about 100 unaccompanied minor children it is expected to receive.
'While HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has worked to build up its licensed bed capacity, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage the increasing numbers of UC referrals from CBP,' the agency noted in the release.
'HHS is aggressively working with its interagency partners to ensure that [unaccompanied children] are safe and unified with family members or other suitable sponsors as quickly and safely as possible.'
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