Houston warehouse eyed as shelter for immigrant children

An agency in Texas that contracts with the federal government to house thousands of immigrant children has signed a lease to turn a Houston warehouse into a temporary shelter.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the application submitted to the state by Southwest Key Programs requests a license to hold up to 240 children.

Southwest Key operates several other facilities in Texas for children who were detained after illegally crossing the border on their own or who were separated from their parents after entering as a family.

Federal figures show nearly 2,000 children were separated from adults from April 19 to May 31.

Many facilities in the U.S. government network that house children are at or close to capacity.

Federal officials in the coming days will open a shelter in far West Texas for hundreds of children.