Intel

Amid Migrant Surge, HHS Taps Pentagon to House Children at Texas Military Bases

March 24, 2021Nolan Peterson
A migrant caravan on its way to the southern US border stops in Mexico City on Nov. 7, 2018. Photo by Nolan Peterson/Coffee or Die.

A migrant caravan on its way to the southern US border stops in Mexico City on Nov. 7, 2018. Photo by Nolan Peterson/Coffee or Die.

The Department of Health and Human Services has asked the Department of Defense to review the possibility of housing unaccompanied migrant children at two military bases in Texas, underscoring a mounting crisis at the US-Mexico border that has left thousands of minors in US government custody.


Pentagon spokesman John Kirby acknowledged the request on Tuesday. The HHS housing requests include a vacant dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio, as well as a swath of open land at Fort Bliss, Kirby said, adding that HHS officials had already surveyed the Pentagon sites.


“We’ll analyze it and evaluate it just like we would any other request for assistance,” Kirby said.


A migrant caravan on its way to the southern US border stops in Mexico City on Nov. 7, 2018. Photo by Nolan Peterson.

HHS is also expected to inspect additional sites for housing migrants at Camp Pendleton, California, and Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.


A surge of immigrants at the southern border has strained the ability of Customs and Border Protection facilities to house unaccompanied minors. The pace of migrants arriving at the border so far this year is on par to be the highest in 20 years. According to CBS News, as of last weekend some 15,500 unaccompanied migrant minors were in US government custody, including about 5,000 at a tent facility in south Texas and other ad hoc holding sites.


In 2019, amid another surge in migrants at the southern border, HHS reportedly reviewed housing unaccompanied migrant children at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Fort Benning, Georgia.


Joint Base San Antonio’s is the largest joint military base in the US, comprising Air Force and Army units.


Read Next: The Shadow Wolves Use Ancient Tracking Methods to Hunt Illegal Smugglers Along the US Border



Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson is a senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine and the author of Why Soldiers Miss War. A former US Air Force special operations pilot and a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Nolan is now a conflict journalist and author whose adventures have taken him to all seven continents. In addition to his memoirs, Nolan has published two fiction collections. He lives in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his wife, Lilya.
More from Coffee or Die Magazine
navy seal training
Navy SEALS Training Plagued by Massive Problems, According To Investigation

Medical oversight and care were “poorly organized, poorly integrated and poorly led and put candidat...

memorial day arlington
Memorial Day Is a Day of Remembrance, Not Celebration

Memorial Day was created as a remembrance to honor the fallen by decorating graves — a holiday meant...

air force joint chiefs
Air Force Fighter Pilot Tapped As Next Joint Chiefs Chairman Has History of Firsts

The Air Force fighter pilot about to be nominated as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ...

sowf special operations warrior foundation
BRCC Donates $500K to Special Operations Warrior Foundation

In an effort to continue Black Rifle Coffee Company’s mission of supporting the veteran community, B...

Coca Cola 600
BRCC to Honor Fallen Marine During NASCAR’s Legendary Coca-Cola 600

Black Rifle Coffee Company will honor Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa during NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 this Memorial Day. Menusa was killed in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq.

uss gerald r. ford oslo
US Aircraft Carrier Arrives In NATO Member Norway, To Take Part In Drills

The nuclear-powered ship USS Gerald R. Ford entered the Oslo fjord escorted by a rapid dinghy-type boat with armed personnel on board.

adam driver indy 500
Marine Vet, Actor Adam Driver Named Honorary Starter for Indianapolis 500

Two-time Academy Award nominee Adam Driver, who will soon be starring as Enzo Ferrari in a biopic of...

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
  • Request a Correction
  • Write for Us
  • General Inquiries
© 2023 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved