Pentagon Asked to House Unaccompanied Minors at Texas Military Facilities

Unaccompanied minors from Central America are separated from other illegal immigrants by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft in Penitas, Texas, on March 14, 2021. Adrees Latif/Reuters

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it had received a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied minors at two Texas military facilities.

The request specifically asked to use Joint Base San Antonio in Lackland and Fort Bliss, which is outside of El Paso, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a press briefing.