U.S. reopens temporary facility for migrant children in Texas


The Biden administration is reactivating an emergency migrant child facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, due to an influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border and capacity limits at permanent shelters due to COVID-19.
During the Trump administration, the facility was open for one month in the summer of 2019. Today, it will hold up to 700 migrant teens. Mark Weber, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, told The Washington Post the temporary operation is based on the federal emergency management system and will keep migrant kids out of Border Patrol facilities, where holding cells are designed for adults.
The U.S. has 13,200 beds for migrant kids, but only half can be used because of social distancing measures. In January, more than 5,700 unaccompanied minors were apprehended crossing the southern border, and as of Sunday, there are 7,000 migrant kids in U.S. custody. The Carrizo Springs facility will "meet or exceed" Texas licensing standards, Weber said, and is run by the nonprofit BCFS Health and Human Services.
Subscribe to 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.
"If we could find another way, that'd be great," Weber told the Post. "On the flip side, these kids just come in and they're turned loose on the street, they end up being homeless kids."
President Biden has used executive orders to rescind some of Trump's hardline immigration policies, and some immigration lawyers, advocates, and lawmakers are wondering why he would open a migrant child facility linked to the Trump administration. "It's unnecessary, it's costly, and it goes absolutely against everything Biden promised he was going to do," attorney Linda Brandmiller told the Post. "It's a step backward, is what it is. It's a huge step backward." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) agreed, tweeting, "This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party."
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.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling