US Tent Facility is Holding Migrant Families Longer Than Recommended
They're being kept far more than 72 hours, despite a plunge in border crossings, according to an immigration advocate and a person familiar with the matter.
In this photograph distributed by the US Customs and Border Protection Office of Public Affairs, an aerial view of the soft-sided facility in Otay Mesa, California.
Source: CBP
Migrant families with children are being detained at a massive California tent city for far longer than federal guidelines suggest, even as crossings remain at the lowest levels in years.
Some families have been held for 10 days or more at a soft-sided facility near San Diego, according to the National Center for Youth Law and a person familiar with the facility’s operations. Guidelines laid out by US Customs and Border Protection, which operates the center, state that people should not be held in such spaces longer than 72 hours, noting special care should be taken for families and unaccompanied children.