US government holding facility for children closes

HOUSTON – The last teenagers have left the U.S. government’s newest holding facility in the South Texas oilfields, just one month after it opened.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that it would keep access to the site at Carrizo Springs, Texas.

The facility opened in response to reports of children being detained without beds or adequate food by the U.S. Border Patrol, but it opened just as border crossings dropped as they normally do in summertime.

The non-profit BCFS had said Tuesday that the facility was on track to close by week’s end. Kevin Dinnin, BCFS’ CEO, says the facility might serve as backup if the HHS facility in Homestead, Florida, were to be threatened by tropical weather.