McALLEN, Texas — The prospect of the U.S. government housing up to 20,000 migrant children on military bases has raised questions on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Chuck Schumer said Thursday that he wants to know how many children are already being held after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and in what conditions.
A defense official says the Department Health and Human Services asked for the space and the Pentagon agreed.
Schumer asked why reporters haven’t been allowed to tour detention facilities and how the new plan would work. The New York Democrat also wondered how the Trump administration was keeping track of families separated under its “zero tolerance” policy on illegal border crossings.
RELATED
• Melania Trump visits migrant children at Texas detention center