Contractor: Facility for migrant children in Tornillo to expand; 5,000 positions need to be filled
A company called Comprehensive Healthcare Services (CHS) is hiring five thousand people to work at the facility for undocumented boys in Tornillo, Texas.
Earlier this week, ABC-7 learned the contract for the federal contractor currently managing the shelter will expire on August 13, 2018. CHS told ABC-7 it will take over the facility after that date. The facility will be expanded to accommodate more teenagers caught entering the US illegally, CHS said.
“We’ve been asked to be on standby to increase the size of the shelter,” said Steven Mickholtzick, the director of recruiting for CHS.
Mickholtzick says they are hiring at least five thousand youth care workers and physicians to care for four thousand unaccompanied immigrant youngsters caught trying to come into the U.S.
After learning about the potential expansion of the facility in Tornillo from CHS, ABC-7 reached out to HHS once again. The federal agency sent ABC-7 the following statement: “The temporary shelter established at Tornillo LPOE currently has capacity for 400 unaccompanied alien children, with the ability to expand or contract as needed.”
54-year-old Art Garibay told ABC-7 he is applying for case manager. ABC-7 asked Garibay how he felt about the separation of migrant families at the border. “I feel this is about the children and not so much about the controversy,” Garibay said.
Workforce solutions, the state’s employment agency, did not have any postings on its website for the five thousand openings. A spokesman with that agency tells ABC-7 they are not always contacted by a potential employer.
The CHS spokesman admits he may not be able to fill all five thousand positions here in El Paso alone. He says he may have to reach out to other states to bring them in to work in Tornillo.
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