Report: Dallas convention center will be used to house migrant teens


To deal with the surge in unaccompanied minor migrants crossing the southern border, the Biden administration is planning on housing up to 3,000 teenagers at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, The Associated Press reports.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures, there is limited space at immigration facilities, and last month, a temporary tent facility was reopened in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to hold up to 700 teens. AP obtained a memo sent to the Dallas City Council on Monday that states the convention center will be used to house boys ages 15 to 17, for up to 90 days. The government could start placing teens there as early as this week, the memo says.
In February, authorities encountered 9,457 unaccompanied minors crossing the border, the highest number since May 2019. The Border Patrol is only supposed to hold migrant children for up to three days, before transferring them to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services, but because there are so many minors in custody, more are being detained for longer periods of time. The convention center is being described as a "decompression center," AP reports, and will take pressure off the Border Patrol facilities.
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.
"I am incredibly proud of the agents of the Border Patrol, who have been working around the clock in difficult circumstances to take care of children temporarily in our care," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. "Yet, as I have said many times, a Border Patrol facility is no place for a child." In a statement, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said that "collective action is necessary, and we will do our best to support this humanitarian effort."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foreground
The Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fall
The Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pause
The Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants