New US facility to hold immigrant children already closing

HOUSTON (AP) — The nonprofit that operates a new U.S. government holding facility for migrant youths says the last teenagers detained there will leave by the end of the week.

Kevin Dinnin, the CEO of BCFS, said Tuesday that the facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, should be empty by Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opened the facility just a month ago. An HHS spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday.

Carrizo Springs opened at the site of a former oilfield camp and was supposed to help HHS take in children who were otherwise detained by the U.S. Border Patrol in sometimes squalid conditions.

But the facility opened just as border crossings have fallen. HHS has also sped up its processing to release children faster.

Vice News first reported the development.