Customs and Border Protection officials are preparing a second temporary holding facility to handle an unrelenting, 2-year-old surge of unaccompanied children and families from Central America seeking asylum at the U.S. border.
After an inspection of a facility to open Friday in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said the number of apprehensions along the southwestern border can be close to 2,000 a day – with most turning themselves in.
Another similar facility is up-and-running in Tornillo, near El Paso.
Kerlikowske said last month's influx was as high as October: 46,195. Exact figures for November will be released next week.
Some people apprehended may have to stay in the holding facility for up to 72 hours for processing them; after that, they'll be turned over to either the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, CNS News reported.
In October, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged the large numbers of migrants seeking asylum, noting border security alone won't prevent Central Americans from fleeing the "powerful push factors of poverty and violence."
According to CNS News, one of the provisions of a stopgap spending bill to fund the government at current levels through next April 28 allows "additional funding, if needed, for the housing and care of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) after February 1, 2017. Due to the variability in the increased number of children coming into the country, it is possible that additional funds may be needed at that time."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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