SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Immigrant children walk through a "tent city" located at the Tornillo Port of Entry in Texas. (Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre/San Antonio Express-News)
'Dragging Their Feet': Trump Admin Delays Closure of Texas 'Tent City' for Migrant Children--Again
State lawmakers who toured the facility say the delay is due to the federal government's backlog of background checks and fingerprints
Aug 11, 2018
The Trump administration is delaying closure of a Texas "tent city" that houses migrant boys who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or were separated from their families under the president's cruel "zero tolerance" policy, according to a CBS News report published early Saturday.
Located at the Tornillo Port of Entry south of El Paso, the facility was opened June 14 because of overcrowded shelters and was initially set to close a month later. However, with hundreds of children still separated from their parents--thanks to the administration's immigration policies and prolonged failure to reunite families by a federal court's July 26 deadline--its closure has been repeatedly delayed.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks."
--Texas Rep. Diego Bernal
After the first delay, officials had planned to close down the facility this weekend, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--which contracted the nonprofit that runs the tent city--said Friday that now it won't close until at least September.
On Friday, Texas lawmakers toured the facility--which currently houses about 170 children--with members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. Democratic state Reps. Ina Minjarez and Diego Bernal told the San Antonio Express-News that the shutdown delay is due to a backlog of background checks and fingerprints.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks," said Bernal.
"Why are they not doing their due diligence to get these expedited, so that these kids can leave this facility and be with their family?" asked Minjarez.
A spokesperson for HHS told CBS:
HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is continuously monitoring bed capacity available to provide shelter for minors who arrive at the U.S. border unaccompanied and are referred to HHS for care by immigration officials, as well as the information received from interagency partners, to inform any future decisions or actions. ...HHS will continue to assess the need for this temporary shelter at Tornillo Land Port of Entry (LPOE), Tornillo, TX, based on projected need for beds and current capacity of the program.
Pointing to an investigation published July 5, CBS also noted that "a loophole in federal policy allows the Tornillo facility and another massive temporary shelter in Homestead, Florida, to escape the rigorous, often unannounced child welfare inspections that all other similar shelters operated by ORR are subjected to."
Gina Hinojosa, another Democratic state representative who visited the facility on Friday, tweeted:
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Trump administration is delaying closure of a Texas "tent city" that houses migrant boys who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or were separated from their families under the president's cruel "zero tolerance" policy, according to a CBS News report published early Saturday.
Located at the Tornillo Port of Entry south of El Paso, the facility was opened June 14 because of overcrowded shelters and was initially set to close a month later. However, with hundreds of children still separated from their parents--thanks to the administration's immigration policies and prolonged failure to reunite families by a federal court's July 26 deadline--its closure has been repeatedly delayed.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks."
--Texas Rep. Diego Bernal
After the first delay, officials had planned to close down the facility this weekend, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--which contracted the nonprofit that runs the tent city--said Friday that now it won't close until at least September.
On Friday, Texas lawmakers toured the facility--which currently houses about 170 children--with members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. Democratic state Reps. Ina Minjarez and Diego Bernal told the San Antonio Express-News that the shutdown delay is due to a backlog of background checks and fingerprints.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks," said Bernal.
"Why are they not doing their due diligence to get these expedited, so that these kids can leave this facility and be with their family?" asked Minjarez.
A spokesperson for HHS told CBS:
HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is continuously monitoring bed capacity available to provide shelter for minors who arrive at the U.S. border unaccompanied and are referred to HHS for care by immigration officials, as well as the information received from interagency partners, to inform any future decisions or actions. ...HHS will continue to assess the need for this temporary shelter at Tornillo Land Port of Entry (LPOE), Tornillo, TX, based on projected need for beds and current capacity of the program.
Pointing to an investigation published July 5, CBS also noted that "a loophole in federal policy allows the Tornillo facility and another massive temporary shelter in Homestead, Florida, to escape the rigorous, often unannounced child welfare inspections that all other similar shelters operated by ORR are subjected to."
Gina Hinojosa, another Democratic state representative who visited the facility on Friday, tweeted:
The Trump administration is delaying closure of a Texas "tent city" that houses migrant boys who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or were separated from their families under the president's cruel "zero tolerance" policy, according to a CBS News report published early Saturday.
Located at the Tornillo Port of Entry south of El Paso, the facility was opened June 14 because of overcrowded shelters and was initially set to close a month later. However, with hundreds of children still separated from their parents--thanks to the administration's immigration policies and prolonged failure to reunite families by a federal court's July 26 deadline--its closure has been repeatedly delayed.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks."
--Texas Rep. Diego Bernal
After the first delay, officials had planned to close down the facility this weekend, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--which contracted the nonprofit that runs the tent city--said Friday that now it won't close until at least September.
On Friday, Texas lawmakers toured the facility--which currently houses about 170 children--with members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. Democratic state Reps. Ina Minjarez and Diego Bernal told the San Antonio Express-News that the shutdown delay is due to a backlog of background checks and fingerprints.
"All of them have places they could go, but for the federal government dragging their feet in returning requests for background checks," said Bernal.
"Why are they not doing their due diligence to get these expedited, so that these kids can leave this facility and be with their family?" asked Minjarez.
A spokesperson for HHS told CBS:
HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is continuously monitoring bed capacity available to provide shelter for minors who arrive at the U.S. border unaccompanied and are referred to HHS for care by immigration officials, as well as the information received from interagency partners, to inform any future decisions or actions. ...HHS will continue to assess the need for this temporary shelter at Tornillo Land Port of Entry (LPOE), Tornillo, TX, based on projected need for beds and current capacity of the program.
Pointing to an investigation published July 5, CBS also noted that "a loophole in federal policy allows the Tornillo facility and another massive temporary shelter in Homestead, Florida, to escape the rigorous, often unannounced child welfare inspections that all other similar shelters operated by ORR are subjected to."
Gina Hinojosa, another Democratic state representative who visited the facility on Friday, tweeted:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy