WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2021) The Biden administration is opening another temporary care facility in the state of Texas to house up to 500 migrant children, a US Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"While ORR has worked to build up its licensed bed capacity to about 13,500 beds, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage both enhanced COVID-19 mitigation strategies and the increasing numbers of UC referrals from DHS. To support this effort, HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] will activate a second Carrizo Springs property as Influx Care Facility," the spokesperson said.
This is the second temporary care facility set up in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to accommodate an influx of migrants arriving at the US southern border. Other temporary influx facilities have been set up in the cities of Donna, Dallas, Midland, and Pecos.
The spokesperson said the new facility will house up to 500 migrant children in hard-sided structures.
US government data shows that 100,441 migrants were apprehended at border with Mexico in February, a significant increase from the 78,442 migrants apprehended in January. A total of 396,958 migrants have been apprehended at the US southern border in fiscal year 2021, which began in October.
The data also shows that about 317,590 migrants have been expelled or turned away immediately since October under a Trump-era public health-related policy known as Title 42. The highest number of migrants expelled in fiscal year 2021 occurred in February with 70,183 expulsions.
