McALLEN, Texas (AP) _ A 55,000-square foot warehouse converted to process immigrant children who have entered the U.S. illegally will open July 20.
According to a U.S. Border Patrol invitation to local political and law enforcement leaders obtained by The Associated Press, VIPs will be given a walkthrough of the new facility in McAllen on Thursday.
More than 57,000 unaccompanied children, mostly from Central America, have entered the U.S. illegally since October. The children had overwhelmed Border Patrol facilities, spurring the opening of this center. The agency had flown many children to a processing facility in Nogales, Arizona, but the new center in McAllen will be near the Border Patrol’s busiest station.
The invitation says the facility will provide showers, laundry, meals, medical attention and recreation to children who are processed there.
