5,600 Kids Still Held in Texas "Shelters"

5,600 migrant kids in Texas shelters

Even after Tornillo tent city’s closure, more than 5,600 migrant kids are living in Texas shelter

In Texas, and nationally, the number of unaccompanied migrant children being held in government-funded shelters declined in January, according to the latest state and federal data.

Most of the drop can be attributed to the closure on Jan. 11 of a temporary tent shelter in Tornillo, near El Paso. However, the Trump administration also announced in late December it would relax screening policies that immigrants rights groups have blasted for slowing placement of migrant kids with relatives and other sponsors.

As of Jan. 16, state data show there were 5,601 children living at the 34 remaining shelters across the state for unaccompanied youth.

Teachers Against Child Detention

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Trump and the Border Wall

Barefoot children. In diapers. Choking on tear gas. Mothers running in terror.

Now a 7 year old girl--Jakelin Maquin--has died from dehydration and exhaustion in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody. The ACLU blamed “lack of accountability, and a culture of cruelty within CBP” for the girl’s death.

This is inhuman. I can’t shake the sense that the ground is cracking under my feet. I want to share what this makes me think and feel - I hope you stick with me here.

Trump gave the order to use CS gas on families and children at the border. I saw the pictures, and felt outrage. Then Trump distracted the media with his personal reality show. The photos were knocked off the front page with the next crisis.

I’m not OK with this. I’m guessing you aren’t either. But we are not powerless.

In June, I 

went to McAllen, Texas with my then-five year old son on Father’s Day. There is another picture that seared into my soul there - toddlers looking out of the armored windows of a bus as it left the detention center and their parents behind. I will never, ever forget the fear in their eyes.