Federal officials are opening three shelters in Texas and California to accommodate up to 1,400 unaccompanied immigrant children amid a spike in border crossings from Mexico.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday it had contracted with two facilities in Texas and one in California.
Officials in two Texas counties outside Dallas said they were told this week to expect up to 1,000 children over the next few days. David Sweet, the top administrator in Rockwall County, said he's been told all the children are from Central America.
Nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in October, the highest figure recorded in six years by the group tracking crossings.