Underage immigrants waiting to be screened for new crowns at the Donna, Texas, holding center.
Texas Governor Abbott ordered the closure of the young immigrant holding center at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on July 7 because of recent reports of sexual assaults on young immigrants who were not accompanied by parents or guardians. The Freeman Coliseum is estimated to have about 1,300 young immigrants, and Abbott said before ordering the closure, “In short, this place is a big health and safety hole.
The Texas Tribune noted that although the federal government and Texas are still debating who is responsible for the surge of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. But Abbott still went ahead and closed the Feynman Arena shelter. Meanwhile, Abbott said the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) had been notified, but were unsure of the identity of the victims and did not provide sufficient evidence, saying only that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) would investigate further.
A press conference was held to announce the incident, which Abbott said was intended to serve as a warning to President Biden and to allow the federal government to move the minors from the Feynman Arena to other federally managed premises as soon as possible because there is “more space, more staff, more resources and more assurance of the safety of immigrants”; Abbott also said that the Arena is short of manpower and that some of the young children do not have enough to eat. Abbott also said the arena’s manpower shortage, the lack of food for some young children, and the difficulty of isolating and housing the newly infected have led to the mixing of the newly infected with the uninfected.
The Tribune reported that Abbott’s spokesman later told the media that the governor had previously spoken with federal officials; however, the federal Department of Health and Welfare (DHHS) did not respond.
One of the main points of contention between the federal government and Texas is whether minor immigrants without guardians should stay in the U.S. The Border Patrol currently houses 4,200 people and the federal Department of Health and Welfare houses 16,000.
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