Administration to Put Up Tent City in Tornillo, Texas to House Migrant Kids
Faced with mounting issues after putting into effect a "zero tolerance" immigrant policy that saw children separated from their migrant parents, the Trump Administration has decided to put up a tent city in Tornillo, Texas to house the migrant kids, according to separate sources.
Unconfirmed reports say that the Department of Health and Human Services, which has been charged with the custody of children separated from their parents at the border, is now planning to build a "tent city" in Texas to accommodate kids.
According to three sources familiar with the matter via NBC News, these tents will be the larger ones that can fully enclose a space down to the walls on the ground, and there will be enough to hold an estimated 450 beds.
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There is now a need for a separate set of facilities to cater to children who are by themselves after a crackdown by the Trump administration on immigrants attempting to cross the border between the U.S. and Mexico illegally.
Since the new policy was enforced on May 7, adult migrants have been criminally prosecuted for illegal entry, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to take into custody any minors traveling with them.
About 1,500 immigrants are being arrested every day for illegally crossing the border, according to Ron Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. As a result, around 570 children were held in custody by the U.S. Border Patrol as of last week alone.
A current report estimates 1,800 families have been separated at US–Mexico border from late 2016 to February 2018, following tougher immigration policies. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials have also officially confirmed that more than 2,400 children were separated from their families in that span of time.
"They are only in these shelters long enough to be reunited with their family members. That's the purpose of them," Vitiello said about the temporary facilities.
