The Trump administration is considering Fort Benning, located along the Alabama-Georgia state line, to house unaccompanied immigrant children who have arrived at the southwest border, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Tuesday.
A Health and Human Services Department official said both Pentagon and HHS representatives were preparing to tour “unused property” on the installation Wednesday, though it is not known how many children might be housed, according to the report.
The Pentagon also said Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and Fort Sill, Okla., were abeing considered as locations for housing unaccompanied immigrant children, the report said.
In April Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan approved a Department of Homeland Security request for DOD to locate sites for up to 5,000 unaccompanied children. Tens of thousands of children under 17 have crossed the U.S.-Mexican border, according to DHS.
Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Friday that a surge in southwest border crossings are overwhelming the department and that authorities have more than 80,000 people in custody.
Customs and Border Protection photo by Mani Albrecht
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