Over 400 migrant children remain separated from their families months after President Donald Trump announced that he was ending his policy that separated parents from their children at the border.
Kids who were forcibly taken from their parents have reportedly attempted suicide and told officials that they want to die. Employees at multiple shelters have been accused of sexual abuse. A judge ordered the federal government to stop giving psychotropic drugs to migrant children without consent.
Now the Trump administration wants even more space to detain migrant children who attempt to cross the border without a parent. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Tuesday that it wants to expand its detention center in Tornillo, Texas to 3,800 beds, which would triple its current capacity.
Immigration facility at Tornillo, Texas will stay open through the end of the year; expand to more than 3,000 beds, according to @HHSGov. pic.twitter.com/7CuP5ZVCSX
— Julian Aguilar (@nachoaguilar) September 11, 2018
The Dallas News reports that there are 12,800 beds for unaccompanied minors at more than 100 government-run shelters, which means the Trump administration’s proposed expansion to the “tent city” in Tornillo would increase its overall number of beds for migrant kids by 20 percent.
Texas state Rep. Cesar Blanco (D) blasted the Trump administration over the request for additional space:
“This administration has resorted to putting kids in tents rather than pushing for comprehensive immigration reform while Congress sits complicit with inaction. It’s immoral and un American.”
Despite enacting abusive immigration positions that he referred to as “unpleasant consequences” and attempting to expand the amount of time that migrant children and families can be detained, Trump’s family separation policy has not deterred border crossings.