Admin Scrambling to Figure out How Migrant Children Were Left on Buses Overnight Outside Federal Facility
District of Columbia | May 17, 2021
Biden administration officials are investigating reports of unaccompanied migrant minors spending nights on buses outside a federal holding facility in Dallas, Texas, NBC News reported Thursday.
Migrant children are sleeping, eating and using the restroom on buses outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, sometimes for days, according to NBC News.
“This is completely unacceptable,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said, NBC News reported. “We’re quickly investigating this to get to the bottom of what happened, and we’ll work to make sure this never happens again. The safety and well-being of the children is our priority.”
A 15-year-old migrant, Joel, made the journey from Honduras to reunite with his mother and was left on a bus from Saturday until the bus departed on its way to Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday, NBC News reported. His mother, Doris, said an HHS employee told them Joel would arrive Monday despite the bus remaining in Dallas.
Joel called his family and “was crying. He didn’t feel good because he says he has been there for a long time. And I was surprised when he said, ‘We are still here,’” his uncle Elvin told NBC News. Joel spent over 42 days in HHS custody and it’s unclear how many migrants were held on buses for prolonged periods of time…
(Excerpts from the Tennessee Star)