Amid allegations of abuse by American officials and reports of poor conditions, the Obama administration has announced that it is to use a third military base to house children and young adults who have illegally crossed the border into the United States.
Reuters claims that unnamed administration officials say that the third facility is to be situated in an army base located in Fort Sill in Oklahoma. It will house 600 youngsters, to begin with before seeing its capacity bumped up to 1,200. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, there have been similar housing facilities created in both Texas and California. The announcement comes as the US government struggles to cope with the overwhelming number of immigrant minors coming into the United States, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Many of the youngsters are believed to be hoping to be reunited with their parents or other members of their family, with White House critics blaming what they call lax security at the border for the escalating crisis. Around 1,000 minors are already being detained at a makeshift facility in Nogales in Arizona.
Political opponents of President Obama claim that his immigration policies are responsible for the situation, arguing that Border Patrol is failing to do its duty and enforce the law. “This is a crisis of the federal government’s creation,” says Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona.