Thread by @TalKopan

One hour into this family separation hearing, questions are now beginning.

Border Patrol chief testifies the agency was “prepared” to implement a “prosecution initiative.”
She says there was no “searchable" information field that would have indicated separated families.

BP Chief Provost says that with “lessons learned,” since the separations practice, CBP now tracks all separations in a searchable way.

“As i said before, it was a prosecution initiative, therefore our focus was on tracking the prosecution numbers. … Our focus was on the prosecutions,” BP Chief Carla Provost says.

Scott Lloyd seems unable to answer Q’s from Sheila Jackson Lee whether he ever contacted CBP about tracking separated children that ended up in HHS custody (before the court ordered it)

Louie Gohmert is really aggressively going after EOIR Director James McHenry for pausing briefly before answering a question. It’s sort of odd.

“In every conversation we had about separation we opposed separation,” CDR Jonathan White just said.
(under tense questioning from Rep. Deutch about sex assault in unaccompanied minor facilities.)

Matt Gaetz, a big Trumpian voice in Congress, asked to enter a New York Times article into the Congressional Record.
Jerry Nadler couldn’t resist ribbing him for asking to enter an article from the “fake news” NYT. Gaetz notes it’s the “failing” NYT.
Of course, it’s neither.

Interesting line of questioning from Karen Bass, a big foster youth advocate.
She’s asking Border Patrol what training agents have to determine the best interest of children pre-separation.

.@RepJayapal just asked Scott Lloyd if when CDR White raised concerns about separating families, if he was concerned, yes or no.
Lloyd said he heard White’s point.

“I never directed anybody to not plan,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd says he did not reiterate White’s concerns up the food chain.

Under questioning from @RepValDemings, BP Chief Carla Provost says Border Patrol now does “100%” medical screenings on all minors after two children died in or just after being in Border Patrol custody

.@RepMGS just prefaced her questions in the family separation hearings by saying that “just following orders” is no more acceptable an excuse today than it was in Germany...

Lloyd tells @RepMGS that there was “no surprise” to hear that there is a mental health risk to children from separation and it was “taken under advisement” with zero tolerance implementation.

.@RepSylviaGarcia just asked James McHenry (of DOJ) and Scott Lloyd if they ever as a human being said to themselves, “this really goes against humanity” and we shouldn’t do it?
McHenry said he did not.
Lloyd said “I’m proud of our record and the care we gave to” the children.

.@RepDean is questioning Scott Lloyd about his record with pregnant immigrant minors in HHS custody

.@RepLouCorrea at the family separations hearing says he once lost his 3-year-old for an hour and a half at Disneyland and it was the “worst hour and a half of (his) life.”
(Some separated parents say they didn’t know where their kids were for weeks)

.@tedlieu now playing video on his phone (related to our story by @TatianaYSanchez) of 17-month-old crying.
Here’s the story:
sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…

.@tedlieu asks BP Chief Carla Provost whether she considered the El Paso separations pilot in July 17 "a success."
She basically articulated what a pilot program is and did not directly answer.

BTW — here’s my story analyzing the government’s own data on that pilot program:
cnn.com/2018/06/29/pol…

-fin-