El Paso, Texas, Oct 1, 2018 / 17:01 pm
Hundreds of undocumented migrant children and teens have been moved to a tent city in a Texas desert, months after Catholic leaders warned of the dangers of the plan.
In recent weeks, young immigrants in various states have been awakened in the middle of the night and loaded onto buses to be sent to the camp near the west Texas border town of Tornillo, about 35 miles southeast of El Paso.
Shelter workers, speaking anonymously to the New York Times, said children and teens are moved at night to help avoid escape attempts. They are given short notice before a move, in part to prevent them from panicking or trying to run away.
More than 1,600 of these undocumented migrants are moved to west Texas each week. The New York Times said the camp first opened in June for a 30-day period with a capacity for 400 children. In September the camp expanded to a capacity of 3,800, with plans to stay open through the end of the year. Those sheltered in Texas tend to be older children age 13 to 17 who are expected to be released sooner.