The last detained migrant child just left the government's infamous tent city

(Image credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

published 11 January 2019

The Tornillo, Texas tent city is finally coming down.

The massive facility built to house an overflow of migrant children once held as many as 2,500 minors. Now, the last child has left the grounds, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) tweeted Friday, adding his criticism for the much-decried makeshift shelter.

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As months wore on and rules regarding the sponsorship of housing children were loosened, the tent city quickly started emptying out. Tornillo started being dismantled last week, but as many as 1,500 children were still detained there, Vice News reported. That number was officially down to 800 by Tuesday, per the Department of Health and Human Services, and reports later said the last of Tornillo's detained children would likely leave by the weekend. It's unlikely all those children were released to sponsors or family members so quickly; while The Washington Post reports that the "vast majority" will be placed with sponsors or moved to other facilities, it's unclear where they were relocated to.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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