Congressman: Youth shelter reflects flawed immigration plan
Asylum seekers wait as U.S. Border Patrol agents take them into custody on June 12, 2018 near McAllen, Texas. The families were then sent to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center for possible separation (John Moore/Getty)
DALLAS (AP) - A Republican congressman from Texas who has toured a tent-like shelter for hundreds of minors who entered the country illegally says the facility is a byproduct of a flawed immigration strategy.
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd said Saturday that the shelter near the Tornillo port of entry in far West Texas, will house about 360 teenage boys.
He says the boys began arriving Friday, the same day he toured the shelter, and they're being moved from other shelters to make way for younger immigrant children taken into custody at the border.
Federal authorities are separating children from their parents as families arrive at the border.
Hurd says the treatment of minors shouldn't be used as a deterrent to prevent others from entering the U.S.