US reopens Texas surge facility to hold immigrant teenagers

<p>HOUSTON &mdash; President Joe Biden’s administration has reopened a tent facility to house up to 700 immigrant teenagers after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border unaccompanied by a parent, a sign of growing worries about how children are treated in government custody.</p>
<p>U.S. Health and Human Services said Monday that the first teens arrived at Carrizo Springs, Texas, which was converted two years ago into a holding facility under former President Donald Trump. The facility has been closed since July 2019.</p>
<p>Two years ago, Carrizo Springs <a href="https://apnews.com/article/212e016e3f964feeb43f48653e92c0a3">had a large tent serving as a dining hall</a> and assembly area, with children housed in dormitories with bunk beds and tables. The facility is reopening with changes to account for the coronavirus pandemic. </p>
<p>HHS operates long-term facilities for immigrant children apprehended by the Border Patrol. Its 7,100 beds are almost entirely full, leading the agency to re-open Carrizo Springs. Meanwhile, around 700 children are being held by Border Patrol, which has reopened a tent facility in South Texas and otherwise holds immigrants in stations unequipped to detain children. The Border Patrol’s McAllen Processing Center — where <a href="https://apnews.com/article/6e04c6ee01dd46669eddba9d3333f6d5">images of detained immigrants were shared worldwide</a> when the Trump administration separated families — is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-patrols-barack-obama-immigration-texas-mcallen-d0bcaf0e60bb1d6deb22a9f25445b48f">closed for renovations</a> that will remove large cages formed by chain-link fencing. </p>
<p>Democrats during the Trump administration sharply criticized facilities like Carrizo Springs and others at Tornillo, Texas, and Homestead, Florida, for their high cost — an estimated $775 per child per day — and the risks of detaining immigrant children at camps not subject to the same requirements as regular facilities. </p>
<p>HHS says opening Carrizo Springs will provide the beds necessary to transfer children out of Border Patrol stations and eventually place them with sponsors. </p>