The Trump administration is setting up a new facility in Texas to house unaccompanied migrant children who are crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement will operate the shelter in Carrizo Springs. A spokesman told the Associated Press that it's expected to hold as many as 1,600 migrant teenagers.
News about the additional facility comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection said more than 144,000 migrants attempted to cross the southern border into the U.S. in May.
Border agents apprehended almost 133,000 of those migrants between ports of entry, including more than 11,500 minors who were traveling alone.
Under current law, an unaccompanied child who arrives in the U.S. from a noncontiguous country is transferred over to the Department of Health and Human Services. The child then stays in HHS custody until officials can find a relative or sponsor in the U.S. to unite them with.
CNN reported on Thursday that more than 13,000 children were currently in HHS's care.
As Newsy previously reported, HHS has also been working with the Pentagon to come up with more housing options. The two departments are considering the possibility of sending unaccompanied migrant children to U.S. military bases in Georgia, Oklahoma and Montana.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
