US: 2 Texas bases under consideration for migrant kids

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has requested the use of two Texas military posts to house unaccompanied migrant minors, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the requested bases are Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Fort Bliss amid the current surge on the southern border.

Noting that it is something the US has done in 2012 and 2017, he said that "this is not out of the norm for us to support these kinds of requests."

The number of minors that would receive housing in Texas is not available yet, according to the press secretary.

President Joe Biden's administration is currently facing criticism from the Republicans for accepting migrant children crossing into the US, while the border is still closed.

After former President Donald Trump's hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal, migrants are surging into the US in anticipation of more lenient treatment.