AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musieli
Central Americans who travel with a caravan of migrants embrace in Tijuana, Mexico, before crossing the border and request asylum in the United States, Sunday, April 29, 2018.
- The Trump administration appears to be moving ahead with its threat to separate children from families who cross the US-Mexico border illegally.
- Officials from the Health and Human Services Department are reportedly preparing to scout a handful of military bases in Texas and Arkansas where the agency may house some migrant children.
- The Washington Post first reported that development on Tuesday, citing an email sent to Pentagon staffers.
- The move would follow Attorney General Jeff Sessions' threat earlier this month that the Trump administration would implement a "zero-tolerance" policy on families who "smuggle" children across the border.
Children separated from families who cross the US-Mexico border illegally could be sent to one of several US military bases as part of the Trump administration's new "zero tolerance" policy on families who "smuggle" children across the border.
Citing an email sent to Pentagon staffers, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are expected to visit four military bases in Texas and Arkansas to see if they're suitable to house migrant children.
The move would follow Attorney General Jeff Sessions' threat earlier this month that people caught crossing the border illegally would be criminally charged, which might cause them to be separated from their parents.
According to The Post, minors who illegally cross into the US on their own and those who have been separated from their families due to criminal prosecution from illegally crossing the border would be housed on the military bases.
An HHS official confirmed to the Post that the agency would size up military installations where migrant children could be housed, but the document notifying Pentagon staffers of the effort suggested it was still in the early stages, and that "no decisions have been made at this time."
The Trump administration's hard-line stance on immigration is nothing new, but President Donald Trump has grown increasingly fervent about stopping the flow of people entering the US unlawfully.
Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen caught the sharp end of Trump's rebukes on this most recently. In an exchange in front of cabinet officials, the president reportedly scolded Nielsen for failing to secure US borders.