The government agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied immigrant children has asked the Pentagon to find housing on military bases for as many as 5,000 people, a Defense Department representative said Thursday.
HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan on Tuesday asked military officials to “identify space to house up to 5,000 unaccompanied alien children on DoD installations,” according to a statement from Lt. Col. Jamie Davis.
HHS is looking for temporary housing through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Since October, around 27,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended at the southern border. That figure is up from 17,500 at the same point last year.
Davis said Defense Department officials will look at potential locations, including existing facilities and land where they could house thousands of children.
[Read more: Illegal immigration hits 12-year-high in February]
Once Pentagon officials make a determination of which bases are suitable the request, HHS must make additional requests to then use those facilities.
Children who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border who not in the care of parents are taken into Border Patrol custody for up to 72 hours while they are processed then sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE can only hold a minor up to 20 days due to a 2015 court ruling in the Flores settlement. At that point, the child will be transferred to HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, where government officials will work to place the child with a family member in the U.S.
[Related: New crisis: 43 percent of illegal immigrants skip court hearings, 49 percent for minors]
