US to open temporary shelter in Texas for immigrant children

HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government will open a temporary shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children in far west Texas, as existing facilities for children reach capacity under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on migrants and the resulting separation of families.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that the department selected the Tornillo port of entry as a temporary shelter location. The port is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of El Paso, in an area that’s mostly desert and where temperatures routinely approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius).

The facility will be able to accommodate up to 360 children in “the next few days,” said the spokesman, Kenneth Wolfe.

Asked if children will be kept in tents, Wolfe said the facility would have “softsided structures,” but didn’t immediately clarify what those structures would be.