At the Border, Processing Center Opens for Illegal Child Migrants

Josh Siegel / July 19, 2014

McALLEN, Texas — The U.S. government was set to open a 55,000-square-foot processing center in this border town on Sunday to temporarily house immigrant children who have entered the country illegally.

More than 57,000 unaccompanied children, mostly from Central America, have entered the U.S. illegally since October.

The children had overwhelmed Border Patrol facilities, spurring the opening of the center in McAllen.

Crews last week were transforming the formerly empty facility into a place that could house up to 1,000 children.

• Watch the video, which was co-produced by Steve Weyrich, to learn about some of the facility’s features.