1,800 immigrants processed through Fort Sill

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says more than 1,800 unaccompanied minor children were processed through Fort Sill in southwestern Oklahoma before the facility was closed last week.

Spokesman Kenneth Wolfe for HHS’ Administration for Children and Families says 1,861 minors were processed through Fort Sill. The temporary shelter opened in June and its operations were closed last Wednesday.

In addition to Fort Sill, military bases in Texas and California have housed thousands of immigrant children since May. They were sent to the Army barracks after detention centers near the border were overwhelmed with an influx of young people crossing the border.

Wolfe earlier said another surge of unaccompanied children could press the bases into service again.