As of July 18, Texas’ 35 state-licensed shelters had permission to accommodate up to 6,286 children, according to the state health commission. With 4,937 kids living in them, that means they’re at 78% capacity.
Families Divided
President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy drew sharp rebukes after it was announced in April 2018 — especially after children who had been separated from their parents started being placed in a tent city in Tornillo. Trump signed an executive order June 20 that would keep immigrant families together, but it’s unclear how — or if — families that have already been separated will be reunited. With support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, The Texas Tribune has been reporting on the issue from the Texas-Mexico border, Washington, D.C., and Austin. You can help by sending story tips to tips@texastribune.org.
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Here’s a list of organizations that are mobilizing to help the influx of immigrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border
Government agencies are grappling to respond to the number of immigrants coming into the country. Many tax-funded shelters housing immigrants are overcrowded, and there are reports some have substandard living conditions. We’ve compiled a list of organizations that are mobilizing to help.
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Families Divided
“The dam is going to overflow”: In Mexico, pressure builds as U.S. immigration policies take hold
While U.S. officials sound the alarm over a surge of migrants crossing the border, Mexican shelter operators and immigration officials are trying to find space for people from nearly every continent who must wait in Mexico as they try to claim asylum in the U.S.
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Families Divided
The government is putting up more tents to hold migrants, but will it be enough?
The facilities, in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley city of Donna, are designed to house up to 500 asylum seekers each. But the Border Patrol is still apprehending thousands of migrants a week.
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Families Divided
Despite migrant surge, federal officials weigh plan to phase out family detention at South Texas facility
The residential center in Karnes City holds more than 500 adults and children, but federal officials are considering releasing them with notices to appear in court and using the facility to house single adults instead.
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Families Divided
How one migrant family got caught between smugglers, the cartel and Trump’s zero-tolerance policy
Carlos left Honduras with 6-year-old Heyli and a dream of lifting his family out of poverty, only to be caught in the web of a billion-dollar smuggling industry, then separated from his daughter for months. “Right now, the money’s in the people,” one smuggler says.
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Families Divided
Border Hustle: Smugglers, cartels and the U.S. detention industry are making billions off of desperate migrants
Follow two Honduran migrants as their journey to the U.S. for a better life leads them into a giant border hustle where coyotes, cartels and corporations make big bucks off desperate people.
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Families Divided
Mexico agrees to accept some asylum seekers while migrant advocates worry for their safety
As the Trump administration continues to demand a wall on the southern border, it has started forcing some asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their cases are pending. But just how much the Mexican government is willing to cooperate with Washington remains uncertain.
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Families Divided
Tornillo tent city for youth migrants is now empty, Texas congressman says
“This tent city should never have stood in the first place,” U.S. Rep. Will Hurd said Friday on Twitter.
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Families Divided
Tornillo tent city for migrant teens is on the verge of shutting down
After six months of controversy and protests, the tent city erected near a desert port of entry will close after federal officials can find new accommodations for more than 800 unaccompanied minors who crossed the border illegally.