The past two years saw the largest number of unaccompanied minors crossing the United States border, 58,000 in 2014 and 34,000 in 2015. Because of these large numbers of children, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is opening temporary shelters for unaccompanied minors in New Mexico, Colorado and Florida.
Up to 250 children are currently housed at Holloman Air Force Base. The Office of Refugee Resettlement says the facility has the capacity to house up to 700 children. The children are from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and range from 13-17 years of age.
According to a spokesman for Health and Human Services, the children will stay at the temporary facility for an average of about 32 before they can be reunified with a parent or sponsor already in the United States, and most of the children here already have a sponsor in mind.
While at Holloman, the children are keeping busy on a strict schedule with recreational and educational activities.
A Spokesman says the children’s favorite activities include are playing dominoes, soccer and basketball as well as weaving friendship bracelets.
Children were given 5 changes of clothes and a hygiene kit when they arrived at the facility, and eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day.
In 2014, it cost about $500 per child per day to operate this kind of temporary facility, but a cost estimate for the Holloman facility was not immediately available.
Footage from inside the facility was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, recording devices were not permitted during the tour.
