Trump officials say children won’t be housed at Oklahoma migrant shelter
The Trump administration has said it will currently not place unaccompanied migrant children at a temporary shelter at the Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma.
The base was once used to intern Japanese-Americans during World War II and was used as a shelter in 2014 during the Obama administration.
{mosads}Evelyn Stauffer, the spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services’s Administration for Children and Families said in a statement on Saturday that due to a decrease in unaccompanied migrant children referred to the department and high rates of placement of children with sponsors, the agency does not need to place children at such “influx facilities.”
She added that HHS operations at Fort Still will be placed in “warm status,” meaning the department will still have access to it even if it is not being used.
Stauffer said that no unaccompanied migrant children have been placed at Fort Sill since its current activation.
Stauffer’s statement noted that HHS expects an uptick in migrant child referrals this fall and it is “prudent” to keep the site prepared if it is needed in the future.
About 1,600 migrant children had been expected to be held at Fort Sill, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe (R) told local TV station KWSO. A spokesperson for the senator later told the station in a statement that the number of illegal border crossings had dropped, meaning HHS will not have to use Fort Sill.
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