The last detained migrant child just left the government's infamous tent city
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.
After migrant families were separated and detained under President Trump's zero tolerance immigration policy, already-built detention facilities quickly hit capacity. The Tornillo tent city was built to hold the influx of children detained and separated from their families, and was at one point expanded to hold as many as 3,800 kids.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
James Van Der Beek obituary: fresh-faced Dawson’s Creek starIn The Spotlight Van Der Beek fronted one of the most successful teen dramas of the 90s – but his Dawson fame proved a double-edged sword
-
Is Andrew’s arrest the end for the monarchy?Today's Big Question The King has distanced the Royal Family from his disgraced brother but a ‘fit of revolutionary disgust’ could still wipe them out
-
Quiz of The Week: 14 – 20 FebruaryQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
