MOSCOW, November 19 (Sputnik) — A new US residential center for unauthorized migrants will open in December in Dilley, Texas, raising concerns among local human rights groups, AFP reported on Wednesday.
"It's truly offensive that the United States is institutionalizing the practice of family detention,” said Ben Johnson of the American Immigration Council.
The opening of the center was triggered by rapid growth in the volume of immigrants over the last 12 months. About 68,000 children entered the United States, escaping violence and poverty in their home countries.
The facility is designed to house women and children from Central American countries, representatives of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced, AFP reported.
“With the opening of the Dilley facility, ICE will have the initial capacity to house up to 480 residents”, said ICE acting director Thomas Winkowski, adding that the facility will be ultimately equipped to house 2,400 people.
ICE is a federal law enforcement agency which is responsible for controlling a wide range of national and global activities that arise from the illegal movement of people and goods. It enforces US federal laws with regard to border control, trade activities and immigration, according to its official website.
In early November, President Obama announced that he would make every effort to improve the immigration system in the US. The US Senate had approved an immigration reform bill in June 2013, but it wasn’t accepted for debate by the House of Representatives. Now that the Republican Party is set to control both houses of Congress in 2015, the bill, which would have contributed to the legalization of millions of unauthorized immigrants and permitted them to live and work in the US, is not likely to receive any more attention. However, Obama may be planning to issue an executive order granting between 2 and 5 million illegal immigrants amnesty in December, according to The Atlantic.
