■ Lawyers say hundreds of immigrant children have been at a packed tent facility for days.

Some tell lawyers they haven’t been allowed to contact family

HOUSTON — Hundreds of immigrant children and teenagers have been detained at a Border Patrol tent facility in packed conditions, with some sleeping on the floor because there aren’t enough mats, according to nonprofit lawyers who conduct oversight of immigrant detention centers.

The lawyers interviewed more than a dozen children Thursday in Donna, Texas, where the Border Patrol is holding more than 1,000 people.

Some of the youths told the lawyers they had been at the facility for a week or longer, despite the agency’s three-day limit for detaining children. Many said they haven’t been allowed to phone their parents or other relatives who may be wondering where they are.

Despite concerns about the coronavirus, the children are kept so closely together that they can touch the person next to them, the lawyers said. Some have to wait five days or more to shower, and there isn’t always soap available, just shampoo, according to the lawyers.

President Joe Biden’s administration denied the lawyers access to the tent facility.

“It is pretty surprising that the administration talks about the importance of transparency and then won’t let the attorneys for children set eyes on where they’re staying,” said Leecia Welch of the National Center for Youth Law, one of the lawyers. “I find that very disappointing.”

Government figures show a growing crisis as hundreds of children cross the border daily and are taken into custody. The Border Patrol has a record high of more than 3,000 children in detention, according to government data obtained by AP. That figure is rising almost daily.