U.S. authorities are considering moving migrant children to a NASA airfield in California’s Silicon Valley as border facilities fill to capacity amid an unprecedented surge.
Officials have reportedly eyed property in Moffett Field, California, the home of a NASA airstrip and laboratory, which is nestled in the Golden State’s tech hub, approximately 11 miles from Apple’s headquarters. The federal land sits about 500 miles inland from the U.S.-Mexico border.
The potential move follows news that more than 3,200 children have been moved to holding facilities, which are designed to house adults, under the watch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Of the total, 1,400 children have remained in custody past the 72-hour limit in small concrete rooms without beds, dubbed “hieleras,” or iceboxes.
OVER 1,000 MIGRANT CHILDREN HELD BEYOND LEGAL DETENTION LIMIT AS BORDER SURGE WORSENS
“The Department of Health and Human Services has requested federal agencies to determine whether they have currently vacant properties that might be available and suitable for potential future use as Temporary Influx Care Facilities for unaccompanied migrant children,” Darryl Waller, a spokesman for NASA, told ABC News on Wednesday.
“HHS and NASA’s Ames Research Center are coordinating a site assessment of some currently vacant property at Moffett Field, California, for HHS personnel to determine whether certain facilities at the site might be suitable to temporarily provide shelter space in the future. This effort will have no impact on NASA’s ability to conduct its primary missions,” he continued.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that it would be touring property alongside NASA officials.
“NASA officials will join the HHS staff as they tour the property available for potential future use,” an HHS spokesperson told the Washington Examiner in an email. “HHS will determine if the site will be used for UC operations. We expect to decide soon about the feasibility of the NASA site to serve as a potential temporary emergency influx shelter.”
The spokesperson further added that “if selected, Moffett Field would remain unoccupied but available for use to ensure that children are not kept in border patrol stations for longer than 72 hours.”
The Biden administration is grappling with a crisis as officials anticipate that 117,000 children will arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian in 2021, according to a White House Domestic Policy document. On Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection released data that agents had observed over 100,000 illegal border crossings in February, up from 78,000 in the month prior. Agents also noted a 50% uptick in drug seizures.
President Biden has been the subject of sharp criticism over his handling of the child migrant situation.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in late February, said the situation is not a “kids in cages” scenario after Democrats criticized the administration’s reopening of a holding facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas. Other top figures, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, likened the migrant situation to a “challenge” rather than a crisis.
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NASA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
