We continue with our series about the U.S.-southern border. New documents reveal thousands of detained migrant children reported that they were being abused at shelters. This raises serious questions as to the government's ability to protect children in its custody. CGTN's Dan Williams has more from the U.S.-Mexico border.

A new migrant facility opens in El Paso, Texas. This camp will be able to host some 500 people. Authorities hope the new tent city will help them better manage migrants amid concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers. Three Guatemalan children have died in U.S. federal custody in the last five months. Those deaths highlight both the treacherous journey that many Central American children experience in their attempts to enter the United States as well as the health issues that can arise while they are in custody.

Documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services also paint a grim picture. They say there were 45-hundred complaints of sexual abuse and harassment of migrant children in U.S. custody filed between 2015 and 2018. Norma Chavez-Peterson of the American Civil Liberties Union believes there needs to be more transparency in the camps.

NORMA CHAVEZ-PETERSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU SAN DIEGO "The number one concern are the detention conditions. In these temporary border patrol facilities that really don't have any regulation. That lawyers don't have access to them. Community organizations don't have access to them. And they are like a black hole lack of transparency."

Before reaching the U.S., most of the migrants pass through shelters dotted along the Mexican border. Many of these facilities depend on charity donations.

DAN WILLIAMS TIJUANA "There are almost thirty shelters across Tijuana offering migrants the chance to rest, to get help and advice before journeying on. But for those that have already been returned from the U.S. border, the uncertainty continues."

I meet Dermi. A mother of three children. She left Honduras following death threats to her and her family. She says she was humiliated while attempting to claim asylum.

DERMI MAGDALENA GARCIA PEREZ HONDURAN MIGRANT "I told him I needed their help because my case was very serious and he said no all you Honduran people are all liars. You just came to step over my country, leave, leave. He even made me get on my knees."

Dermi says her right to asylum was not respected. Many of those in migrant facilities tell stories of tragedy and danger. But there is an increasing concern that some of the abuses they report are also occurring on the U.S. side of the border. Dan Williams, CGTN, Tijuana, Mexico.