Biden Admin to Open Migrant Shelter in Texas as Unaccompanied Minors Flood Border
'Temporary Influx Care Facility' in Carrizo Springs to reopen amid migrant influx
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Joe Biden's administration is opening an immigrant overflow shelter for children in Texas as officials struggle to cope with an influx of unaccompanied migrant minors at the border.
The Biden admin said it plans on reactivating a "temporary Influx Care Facility" in Carrizo Springs.
The center will potentially accommodate up to 700 migrant children over the next two weeks.
In a statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), officials said its Office of Refugee Resettlement division currently funds 13,200 licensed beds.
On Monday, Axios reported that Biden is facing a crisis at the border.
The influx of unaccompanied minors plus strict health guidelines in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are placing huge pressure on immigration agencies.
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The report pointed to how the Trump administration was "lambasted" for its use of similar temporary shelters in 2019.
Both Biden and Kamala Harris vocally opposed the Trump administration's immigration priorities during the presidential campaign.
The facility in Carrizo Springs has been unoccupied since late 2019.
"Initially, the Carrizo Springs ICF will accommodate approximately 700 children in hard-sided structures," the statement read.
"Additional semi-permanent (soft-sided) capacity may be added if necessary, though ORR will always prioritize place children in hard-sided structures over semi-permanent structures.
The statement said that the wellbeing of the children is the top priority and the government is going to run the temporary Influx Care Facility "to the same or higher standards as state-licensed facilities."
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Biden on Tuesday signed a second spate of orders to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies.
His orders on family separation, border security, and legal immigration bring to nine the number of executive actions on immigration during his first two weeks in office.
Biden addressed the press in the Oval Office prior to signing three new executive orders geared towards rolling back immigration policies from President Donald Trump’s administration.
"I’m not making new law. I’m eliminating bad policy," he said during a signing ceremony.
