Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center may soon reach its limit for unaccompanied minors from the border. The convention center is able to hold up to 3,000 teenagers.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has asked the Pentagon to use Fort Bliss in El Paso and Joint Reserve Base San Antonio as temporary shelters for unaccompanied minors.
"We talk about the story of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter for their own child, and we turned them away," says Domingo Garcia, with LULAC, the League of Latin United Latin American Citizens. "Senator Cruz, Governor Abbott, would you turn these children away and not give them shelter?"
During a press conference outside the convention center Wednesday, Garcia said Abbott and the Department of Public Safety should work with the federal government to help kids who might be victims of human trafficking get visas to connect them with relatives or foster families in the U.S. more quickly.
"Let's go after the bad guys. If there are smugglers, let's get them and use these children's stories to do that," Garcia says.
As the convention center fills up, Catholic Charities and the American Red Cross have been allowed to work with the kids. Volunteers must sign up through the Catholic Charities website here.
The organization says it has enough volunteers but says people can still sign up to join a waitlist. LULAC's volunteer coordinator says children can expect to stay at the convention center at least three to four days.
"The children are very happy, but at the same time, they are a little concerned about their immigration status and wondering if their journey here was even worth it," Volunteer Coordinator Hilda Duarte says.
"Some are traumatized from their journey. Some are traumatized from their homes. Most of all they miss their family."
She says Catholic Charities has set up a system to let the kids contact parents and other family. She says they are each allowed to shower daily and eat three meals along with snacks.
