Mayor Margo tours Tornillo Facility: They are making an ‘inhumane situation, humane’
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo visited the facility housing undocumented minors at the Tornillo Port of Entry over the weekend.
Margo told ABC-7 he had a briefing with the sub-contractor managing the facility. “I thought they were making the best of an inhumane situation, humane, they were on top of things,” Margo said.
Officials with the Health and Human Services (HHS) said that there are a little more than 300 unaccompanied minors at the Tornillo facility.
“The kids were 15 to 17 year olds, a little less than 300; they added several females on Saturday and they processed about 65 or so that had already left and gone back with their families,” Margo added.
“From the facilities, and what I heard about the medical care, they were making the best of a bad situation for those kids. They shouldn’t be separated, that’s the bottom line,” said Margo.
14 of the unaccompanied minors are girls and 67 of the children were released to family or sponsors, officials with HHS said.
In an earlier interview with ABC-7, Health and Human Services Spokesman Mark Weber said, “This country is taking care of children. We’re not going to let them die in the the desert. As a result, we have facilities like this, where children can be well taken care of while they wait for some kind of reunification.”
Weber also mentioned that if the Tornillo Tent Facility ends up closing, Fort Bliss could be an option for housing the children.
