Lawmakers tour Florida migrant teen camp, want policy shift

Congressional Democrats from Florida and Texas have toured a migrant camp in Florida, where they say children are being held for too long in a place that has a "prison-like" feeling.

The lawmakers held a news conference Tuesday after visiting a facility in Homestead, Florida. They pledged to work for children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border to reunite with their families already in the U.S. The Democrats say those who cross with siblings, aunts or uncles should remain together.

Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell says she met a girl who was separated from her aunt and had been at the Homestead center for nine months. Chairman of the Hispanic caucus, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro was part of the delegation.

Children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offered a press tour last week, showing a large room where 144 teenagers slept in bunks.

Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., center, speaks to members of the media about her tour of the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, as Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., left, and Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, right, look on, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Two girls give high-fives as they play soccer at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, right, comforts Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., center, as she talks about their tour of the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, left, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., look on. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Josh Rubin demonstrates in front of the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, second from left, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, speaks during a news conference after touring the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children with Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., left, Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., second from right, and Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, right, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

A woman with the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, center, walks with Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, right, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., center left, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, second left, and Rep. Donna Shalala, far left, on a tour of the shelter, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, second from right, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Donna Shalala, right, chat with demonstrators after their tour the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Police talk with demonstrators outside the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

Children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Homestead, Fla. (AP PhotoWilfredo Lee)

FILE - In this June 23, 2018, file photo, a guard walks by toys placed for migrant children by protesters as they march to Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, in Homestead, Fla. Journalists were given a glimpse Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, of a new expansion at the south-Florida detention facility where nearly 150 teenage migrants sleep in rows of bunk beds in a large windowless room and use portable toilets housed in adjacent tents. (AP PhotoBrynn Anderson, File)

Here’s a rundown of the AP’s latest Election 2024 coverage plans, including live video and text plans, our explanatory journalism and highlights from previous cycles. Candidate schedules are included when available. All times are EDT.

You can find US Election 2024-The Daily Rundown in your CMS or in AP Newsroom.

For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan. Find our election coverage in the U.S. Elections hub in AP Newsroom.

To sign up for our Politics Advisory, delivered afternoons Monday through Friday to your inbox, click here.

TRUMP TRIAL OPENING-AP EXPLAINS — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.

BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving households in low- and middle-income communities — while blasting Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.

President Joe Biden campaigns in Tampa, Florida. Events at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.

++ Candidate schedules are subject to change. Coverage of some events is on merits. ++

7 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool coverage outside of Trump Tower in New York is planned.

8:30 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool or Live AP coverage outside of the courthouse in New York is planned.

9 a.m. — Live pool coverage from the courthouse hallway in New York is planned.

4:15 p.m. — Live US Network Pool of President Joe Biden’s campaign event in Tampa, Florida.

TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY-MEDIA-BLOGS — With cameras not allowed at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, live news blogs are coming into their own as an important news tool. SENT: 710 words, photos.

TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, will be back on the stand Tuesday. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.

ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-ELECTION INTERFERENCE — Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence an adult film star that might provide the only legal reckoning this year. Some legal experts are dubious about attempting to tie a record-keeping case to manipulating an election. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-THINGS TO KNOW — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to this: Whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office — and, if so, what is the extent of the immunity? SENT: 1,070 words, photo.

ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday will cement the lineup for a high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to win their presidential nominations easily. SENT: 890 words, photos. Polls close at 8 p.m.

ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-ABORTION — President Joe Biden is heading to Tampa, Florida, to decry the state’s looming six-week abortion ban as his campaign continued to seize on reproductive rights as a key campaign issue. SENT: 890 words, photos, video.

TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-TAKEAWAYS — Opening statements provide a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges.

BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. SENT: 860 words, photos.

Tue., April 23 — Pennsylvania presidential primary.

Sun., April 28 — Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary.

May 7 — Indiana presidential primary.

May 14 — Maryland presidential primary, Nebraska presidential primary and West Virginia presidential primary.

May 21 — California 20th Congressional District special election, Kentucky presidential primary, Oregon presidential primary.

For coverage and planning questions, the Nerve Center can be reached at +1 800 845 8450 (ext. 1600). For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call +1 844 777 2006.

Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)