Thousands of children streaming across the southern border

Arizona suing the federal government over warehousing children for crossing the border illegally

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," June 16, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: "FACTOR Follow-up" segment tonight. As we reported last week, an estimated of 50,000 children have crossed the southern border illegally in the last eight months.

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These kids are being warehoused by the federal government. They have overwhelmed the state of Texas so much so that some of them are being sent by plane to Arizona.

That has prompted the state of Arizona to threaten to sue the federal government. The whole thing is a huge --

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-- mess. Joining us now on the phone from McGowan, Texas, Fox News Senior National Correspondent John Roberts. So, you've been down on the border for about three days. What have you seen, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): I've seen what literally, Bill, is an impossible situation and a border that is not much better than a sieve, that the big problem for American authorities is how do you stop --

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-- people who want to get caught. And that's the big issue here because these are not people who are trying to escape the border patrol. These are women who either have children with them.

These are unaccompanied children or these are pregnant women, some of whom want to come to the United States to have a baby who will become an American citizen. And then they'll probably be able to stay for at least a time because of that.

And they are not trying to evade authorities. We saw some women from Guatemala early this morning as we were making our way down to the Rio Grande.

Now, what you're looking at now is you're looking at pictures that were taken by border patrol agents of two facilities in McAllen, Texas in the Rio Grande City. And the border patrol agents are taking these pictures because they want to get the word out, what the situation is -- people sleeping on those insulated foil mats in these facilities.

But what's happening, when we saw two women from Guatemala this morning, as we're making our way down to the Rio Grande, they were standing there very calmly on the top of the levy, about a hundred yards away from the river, waiting for the border patrol to pick them up.

Because the word has gone out far and wide in Central America that if you are a woman with a child or you are a pregnant woman, you will be able to stay in the United States at least for a time.

And accompanied children as well. They will be able to stay in the United States at least for a time while removal proceedings are underway.

I talked with Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar. He is an ally of the President's but he is very much at odds with the President over what's going on in the border.

He says that these people are being given what are called notices to appear in an immigration court and that they are then being sent across the country, everywhere from Manassas, Virginia to Seattle, Washington.

And he says, the likelihood that they are ever going to appear for that hearing is almost nil. But as you look at pictures of these young children here, Bill, I think, you know, it makes the point.

You're a father, I'm a father. Children are children, whether they're from New York City, whether they're from San Diego, whether they're from Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City.

And you've seen them at these shelters. It's being run by the Catholic charity, the Sacred Heart Church, just around the street from the bus station where so many of them leave from.

And kids are just kids. And you see them pick up a stuffed animal and they're having fun. And these are children who have traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles, in horrid conditions to get to the United States.

O'REILLY: All right.

ROBERTS: So, you really have to feel for these kids.

O'REILLY: Sure. And I think every sincere person --

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-- does. But I don't know if people understand McAllen and Harlingen. These aren't backwaters. These are towns.

And we were led to believe that the border was secure, that there were impediments to coming across the river, walking across the border. But you said the border is a sieve, that anybody can get across it, is it.

ROBERTS: There literally, Bill, is no impediment to these Central American immigrants to get across the border --

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-- into the United States. If you're a drug-runner, if you're running guns, there have been impediments to that because the border patrol is down there and they're looking for those people. They have all that high-tech surveillance equipment looking for people crossing the border.

O'REILLY: But there's no --

ROBERTS: But when you're a person who wants to get caught, --

O'REILLY: Right.

ROBERTS: -- there's no way to stop it.

O'REILLY: But there's no electrified fence, --

ROBERTS: No, there's nothing.

O'REILLY: -- there's no barrier, --

ROBERTS: No.

O'REILLY: -- there's none of that.

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ROBERTS: We were at this place in Mission. It's called the Riverside Club. It's this little grass roots place owned by a lovely couple.

We spent some time there today, watching. And they have a little property just around the street that they're clearing to try and build another facility down there.

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And, every night, people come across the river. Every morning, people come across the river in a raft, in a little inflatable boat. They walk up on the shore, they walk up in the levy about a hundred yards away, and they just wait there. They are not trying to evade capture.

O'REILLY: No, they want to get in.

ROBERTS: They're just trying to get into the United States. And the second that they put feet on dry land, they're in, at least for a time.

O'REILLY: All right, John. We appreciate it. Thanks very much.

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