BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Facility for unaccompanied migrant children reopens

  • Biden administration reopens a Texas facility for migrant children
  • The facility is improved with higher standards of care
  • HHS care for unaccompanied kids shifts to influx sites

Immigrant children and mothers watch as the last bags of toys are distributed to other children following class at “The Sidewalk School” held at a “Remain in Mexico” camp for asylum seekers on December 08, 2019 in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, Mexico. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — As the U.S. government grapples with a surge in migration at the Mexican border, President Joe Biden’s administration is reopening a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, for housing migrant children who arrive in the country without their parents, NewsNation’s Ali Bradley confirmed.

The facility which was previously used in 2021 to house migrant teenagers, has been revamped with additional recourses and higher standards of care.  

This marks the second reopening of an “influx care facility” by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in less than two months to address the growing number of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S. southern border.  

Last month, HHS reopened a former oil workers’ camp in Pecos, Texas, which had previously been criticized for poor conditions in 2021. 

According to federal law, unaccompanied children who are not from Mexico must be transferred to HHS within 72 hours of processing by U.S. border officials. HHS is responsible for their care until they reach legal age or can be placed with a U.S. sponsor, typically a relative.

HHS traditionally housed these children in state-licensed shelters, but due to increased border crossings, they have turned to “influx care facilities” and other locations with greater capacity in recent years. 

In a statement to CBS News, HHS confirmed that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, had reopened the housing facility in Carrizo Springs, the largest town in Texas’ sparsely populated Dimmit County. The refugee office is a division of HHS. 

“While ORR’s priority is to place children into standard care provider facilities, access to Influx Care Facility (ICF) capacity remains necessary to ensure that ORR can promptly accept referrals when ORR’s other network facilities reach or approach capacity,” HHS told CBS News. 

Border Report

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

72°F Sunny Feels like 72°
Wind
6 mph SW
Humidity
25%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
46°F A few passing clouds. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph N
Precip
9%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous