The Biden administration is preparing to open a new tent facility in Texas to hold migrants crossing the border, as officials scramble to deal with the combination of a surge in numbers and the challenges of COVID-19.
The facility is being opened in Eagle Pass, Texas, in the Del Rio sector, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News. The soft-sided facility is being set up in addition to a similar 185,000-square-foot site in Donna, Texas, that was opened at the beginning of the month.
The facilities, run by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are different from a center in Carrizo Springs, which was reactivated to deal solely with unaccompanied children (UACs) and is run by Health and Human Services (HHS).
In a statement, CBP said it was building the facility to “help accommodate migrants in our custody.”
“There have always been fluctuations in the number of individuals we encounter at the border, and we continue to adapt accordingly,” the statement said. “Since April 2020, CBP has seen an increase in border encounters from the Western Hemisphere due to worsening economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters impacting the area.”
“Based on past experience, evaluation of operational requirements, and challenges due to COVID-19 space restrictions, we need additional processing facilities when we see rising numbers of encounters,” it said “As we work to build and improve permanent facilities for the safe and orderly processing of individuals at the border, temporary soft-sided facilities are sometimes necessary to meet operational needs that may arise due to rising encounters, particularly under challenging circumstances.”
The Washington Post, which first reported on the new facility, reported that officials are also looking into opening further facilities in Arizona, but plans are less advanced.
There has been an increase in the number of migrants moving to the border in recent weeks, coming amid a number of sweeping changes to Trump-era immigration and border security policies by the Biden administration.
Recently, CBP has started to release migrant families into the U. S., restoring the “catch and release” practice that was ended by the Trump administration.
CBP said three factors led to the decision to release illegal immigrant families: an increase of migrant traffic, specifically families from Central America and unaccompanied children; Mexico’s refusal to accep… (Read more)
Sponsored Links
Comments are closed.