The Trump administration — after facing withering criticism for housing migrant kids in a tent city — now wants to open two new tent facilities to detain asylum seekers along the Texas-Mexico border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided a notice to potential contractors that it plans to house up to 1,000 parents and children in tents in the South Texas town of Donna and in El Paso, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Each of the sites would consist of a single massive tent capable of being divided up into separate holding areas, according to the AP. Detainees would sleep on mats but have access to showers, laundry facilities and a fenced exercise area.
The new detention sites would cost taxpayers up to $37 million, according to the report.
The proposal comes as the Department of Justice handed down an order on Tuesday that could mean the detention of thousands of asylum-seekers while they wait for their cases to play out in immigration court — a process that can take years.
Observers view the ruling, handed down by Attorney General William Barr, as another hardline tactic aimed at turning back a flood of migrants from Central America.
Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.
Related Stories
This article appears in Apr 10-23, 2019.
