Proposed shelter southeast of El Paso would hold 3,500 unaccompanied children, be largest in US

Authorities are considering a bid to build a shelter in West Texas that would be the largest in the U.S. to hold unaccompanied children who enter the country illegally.

A number of sites in Texas and elsewhere are being considered as detention facilities for many of the more than 57,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the U.S. since October.

But with 3,500 beds, the proposed Abraham Lincoln Transitional Lodge southeast of El Paso would be far larger than other centers. A temporary processing facility in McAllen holds about 1,000 children.

The lodge’s marketing director, Charles McGuire, tells the Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1AmXUMR ) that the principal backers of the bid previously have invested in housing for oil workers in Texas.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is reviewing the proposal.

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com