Government photos show detained migrants pleading for help

HOUSTON (AP) — A report from government auditors includes images of people penned into overcrowded Border Patrol facilities, including one man pressing a cardboard sign to a cell window with the word "help."

The report released Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General warns that facilities in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley face "serious overcrowding" and require "immediate attention."

In one photo, women and children can be seen sleeping on the floor with only Mylar blankets for cover. Several people are wearing surgical masks.

In another, the auditors say 88 men were being held in a cell with a capacity of 41.

DHS has blamed the surge of families crossing the border for straining its capacity. But reports of filthy conditions in some facilities have sparked outrage.

BuzzFeed first reported on a draft version of the report.