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The federal government will use a Dallas convention center to house up to 3,000 illegal immigrant teenagers amid a surge of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, a report said Monday.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will be used as a so-called “decompression center” for boys ages 15 to 17 beginning as early as this week, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
US Health and Human Services has been rushing to open facilities across the county to house migrant kids who were otherwise being held by the US Border Patrol.
Border Patrol is generally not supposed to detain children for more than three days, but has been holding kids for longer because there is next to no space in the HHS system.
The US Department of Homeland Security on Saturday enlisted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help manage and care for the growing number of children unlawfully crossing the border.
The memo sent to Dallas City Council members on Monday said that FEMA and HHS will “be responsible for providing shelter management and contracts” for food, security, cleaning, and medical care at the downtown convention center.
“Collective action is necessary and we will do our best to support this humanitarian effort,” Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Monday that the Biden administration has been looking for additional facilities for unaccompanied kids, but did not have specifics on the site in Dallas.
“Certainly we would ensure that we’re meeting the standard that we have set out,” Psaki said.
With Post wires
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