(NewsNation) — As the U.S. government grapples with a surge in migration at the Mexican border, the President Joe Biden’s administration is reopening a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, for housing migrant children who arrive in the country without their parents, NewsNation’s Ali Bradley confirmed.
The facility which was previously used in 2021 to house migrant teenagers, has been revamped with additional recourses and higher standards of care.
This marks the second reopening of an “influx care facility” by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in less than two months to address the growing number of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S. southern border.
Last month, HHS reopened a former oil workers’ camp in Pecos, Texas, which had previously been criticized for poor conditions in 2021.
According to federal law, unaccompanied children who are not from Mexico must be transferred to HHS within 72 hours of processing by U.S. border officials. HHS is responsible for their care until they reach legal age or can be placed with a U.S. sponsor, typically a relative.
HHS traditionally housed these children in state-licensed shelters, but due to increased border crossings, they have turned to “influx care facilities” and other locations with greater capacity in recent years.
In a statement to CBS News, HHS confirmed that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, had reopened the housing facility in Carrizo Springs, the largest town in Texas’ sparsely populated Dimmit County. The refugee office is a division of HHS.
“While ORR’s priority is to place children into standard care provider facilities, access to Influx Care Facility (ICF) capacity remains necessary to ensure that ORR can promptly accept referrals when ORR’s other network facilities reach or approach capacity,” HHS told CBS News.
