WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2021) The Biden administration is looking at additional facilities that can be used to hold an influx of migrant children arriving at the US southern border to seek asylum, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.
"I would say that we have been looking at additional facilities to open to move unaccompanied children into facilities where they can received access healthcare, educational resources, mental health resources, legal resources, and certainly we would ensure we are meeting the standard we have set out," Psaki said during a press briefing.
Psaki said she could not confirm reports about plans that a convention center in the US city of Dallas would be used to house up to 3,000 migrant teenagers.
The Press Secretary noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has allowed child migrant detention centers to open to full capacity in order to help get migrant children out of border facilities and into shelters immediately.
When asked about reports that migrant children are being held multiple days in border facilities under uncomfortable conditions, Psaki said it is "not acceptable," adding that the administration recognizes the influx is a problem and work is underway to address the matter.
On Thursday, a US Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson told Sputnik that a total of 8,800 migrant children who came to the United States alone are in Federal care facilities.
Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows 9,457 unaccompanied migrant children were apprehended at the southern border in February, which is a substantial increase from the 5,858 unaccompanied migrant children apprehended in January. At least 29,729 migrant children have been apprehended at the US-Mexico border in the period from October to February.
Last month, influx caused the Biden administration to open a facility in Carizzo Springs, Texas, that can house up to 700 migrant children.
