Biden administration to house migrant teens at overflow facility in Texas closed under Trump
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration plans to reopen a controversial overflow facility to house unaccompanied migrant teenagers as the government grapples with the possibility of a surge in apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, will house up to 700 migrant children within the next two weeks, according to a statement Tuesday from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for migrant children. The temporary Influx Care Facility will be used for children ages 13 and older who have been medically cleared of COVID-19, the statement said.
The move came after President Joe Biden signed a raft of executive orders aimed at unwinding the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, including establishing a task force to reunify children separated from their parents or guardians at the border under former President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy.
As he seeks to fulfill his campaign promise to swiftly undo Trump's immigration actions, Biden is facing hurdles because of the rise in migrant apprehensions at the Southwest border and reduced capacity at facilities over COVID-19 concerns.
Read more: https://www.reporternews.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/03/biden-house-migrant-children-texas-facility-closed-under-trump/4378699001/
(Abilene Reporter-News)
