Commentary: A visit to the 'icebox,' where border detainees wait for a transfer to ICE
The detained migrants call it the "hielera," Spanish for icebox.
It is a metal-sided detention room which the detainees complain is kept painfully cold. Border Patrol insists it is kept cold for health reasons.
The sign above the door reads "Capacity: 35." On April 12, when I visited this El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol facility, there were close to 150 men in the room.
The large, heavy glass window on the cell gives you a clear view of the detainees. They stand shoulder to shoulder. But for benches along the walls, which accommodate a small number, there is no room for the men standing to sit or lie down. Meals are
