Government shelter in Carrizo Springs draws protest

Disturbing images at the border spur on protesters

CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas – Open only a few days as a temporary shelter for up to 1,300 unaccompanied minors, the facility operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services drew dozens of protesters Wednesday.

Yet many of them said they were spurred on by the disturbing images of overcrowded conditions at U.S. Border Patrol processing centers in the Rio Grande Valley and outside El Paso.

“A lot of people don’t understand, or really could care less, until they start seeing the pictures,” said Jose Coronado Hinojosa, of San Antonio.

The U.S. Army veteran and retired postal worker said he drove down to Carrizo Springs to join the diverse group of people at the protest.

“We’re all here for one purpose, to let the people know that we care,” he said.

Another protester, Samantha Smoot, said she came from Austin.

“I was looking for something to do, some way to speak out,” she said. “It’s a no-brainer. We’re hurting these children. We have to stop separating them from their families.”

Mark Webber, an HHS spokesman who was on site, said that’s what HHS is trying to do at the new temporary shelter.

“We have people in there working 24/7, finding sponsors, vetting those sponsors,” Webber said.

He said although sponsors are usually family or relatives in the U.S., the government must be careful the unaccompanied minors won’t fall into the wrong hands.

“These children can be seen as a profit-making motive for organized crime,” he said.

He said since the children at the new shelter arrived without family, HHS is required by law to take them in after they’re initially processed by Border Patrol.

WEB EXTRA: HHS spokesperson explains shelter process


About the Authors

Before starting KSAT in 2017, Lee was a photojournalist at KENS 5, where he won a Lone Star Emmy in 2014 for Best Weather Segment. In 2009 and 2010 Lee garnered first-place awards with the Texas Association of Broadcasters for Best Investigative Series in College Station, as well as winning first place for Staff Photojournalism in 2011 at KBTX.

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