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U.S. migrant holding centres clearing up with fewer detentions: official

Click to play video: 'More than 600 migrants rounded up in massive ICE raid in Mississippi'
More than 600 migrants rounded up in massive ICE raid in Mississippi
Aug. 7: More than 600 migrants were rounded up on Wednesday at seven food processing plants in six Mississippi cities as ICE agents carried out the largest statewide sweep of workplaces for undocumented immigrants in U.S. history – Aug 7, 2019

A senior Trump administration official says that with fewer immigrants and more detention space, people apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border won’t be subject to the squalid, overcrowded conditions criticized earlier this year.

Kevin McAleenan, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security, thanked Congress Thursday during a tour of a new Border Patrol facility in West Texas, saying the money helped “create a much better situation.”

WATCH: July 31 — Central American asylum seekers opt to return home

Click to play video: 'Central American asylum seekers opt to return home'
Central American asylum seekers opt to return home

The tent facility in Tornillo, Texas, is about 40 miles (64.37 kilometres) southeast of El Paso and can hold 2,500 migrants. It had 32 on Thursday after being open for 48 hours.

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Another tent camp in Tornillo for children was closed in January.

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READ MORE: Trump’s new asylum ban could put more strain on immigrant detention facilities

Around 82,000 migrants were detained in July, down 20 per cent from June but double the same time last year.

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