Tent Shelter For Immigrant Minors To Be Expanded, But Officials Say Decision Is Unrelated To ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy
But critics jumped on the announcement. “This administration has resorted to putting kids in tents rather than pushing for comprehensive immigration reform while Congress sits complicit with inaction," said Texas state Rep. César Blanco (D-El Paso). "It’s immoral and un American."
The Associated Press:
Government To Expand, Extend Texas Tent Shelter For Children
The U.S. government will expand its tent shelter for immigrant minors crossing the southwest border to 3,800 beds and keep it open through the end of this year, an agency spokesman said Tuesday. The facility at Tornillo, Texas, which originally opened with a 360-bed capacity for 30 days, is being expanded based on how many children are in the care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, agency spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said in a statement. (9/11)
Texas Tribune:
Federal Government To Greatly Expand Tornillo Shelter For Unaccompanied Minors
The decision marks the third time the facility's operations have been extended since it opened in June. It's necessary because of the ongoing arrival of unaccompanied immigrant minors in the United States, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in an email. The extension is not in response to President Donald Trump’s former “zero tolerance” policy that separated children from their parents or guardians, which has been placed on hold after a national uproar. The facility will also expand to 3,800 beds, spokesperson Kenneth Wolfe said. Earlier this summer, the facility reportedly had around 400 beds. (Aguilar, 9/11)
In other news —
The New York Times:
Worker At Arizona Center For Migrant Children Is Convicted Of Sexual Abuse
A youth care worker at an Arizona shelter for migrant children has been convicted of sexually abusing teenagers who were under his supervision, federal prosecutors said on Monday. After a seven-day trial, the worker, Levian D. Pacheco, 25, of Phoenix, was convicted on Friday by a jury in United States District Court of seven counts of abusive sexual contact and three counts of sexual abuse of minors, the prosecutors said in a statement. He will be sentenced on Dec. 3. (Hauser, 9/11)
