The U.S. military is unlikely to have any temporary housing available for migrant families detained for crossing the southern border until late next month at the earliest, and even that may be a stretch.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to sign the paperwork Wednesday to begin the process of building the two temporary camps, to be located at Fort Bliss and Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas.
Mattis is traveling in China but will be signing off on a formal request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services, which signifies the beginning of construction planning.
The original request from HHS was for temporary shelter for up to 20,000 unaccompanied minors to ready by July.
But with July only days away, and the planning only just beginning, Pentagon officials conceded the camps will not be up and running by next week.
“Is it likely by July 1? No,” said one official who asked not to be named. “Is it likely by the end of July? That’s possible,” he said.
At a press conference before boarding a plane for China, Mattis said while there are still details to be worked out, he’s approved the assistance in principle.
“We’ll provide whatever support the Department of Homeland Security needs in order to house the people that they have under their custody,” Mattis said Tuesday in Alaska. “We’ll work that out week by week. The numbers obviously are dynamic, so we’ll have to stay flexible in our logistics support for the Department of Homeland Security.”
Pentagon officials say while no plans have yet been drawn up, some type of tent city is the most expeditious option.
And Mattis emphasized that the camps will be operated by HHS staff, and the military will have no contact with the migrants.
“We’re not going to get into the political aspect. Providing housing, shelter for those who need it, is a legitimate governmental function,” Mattis said. “I recognize the political aspects of it, but for us it’s a logistics support effort.”
