Homestead Housing Shelter For Children Caught Crossing Border

A shelter in Homestead is temporarily housing kids from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who are caught illegally crossing the U.S. border in Mexico without any parents with them.

The old Homestead Job Corps Center has been transformed into temporary housing for unaccompanied immigrant children. It's the only shelter of its kind in the United States.

Once in federal custody, the government has 72 hours to send them to shelter care, which is required by law from the Department of Health and Human Services, for up to 32 days while the child secures an immigration sponsor.

The shelter has been up and running for just a month, and in a little more than a week has taken in two hundred kids.

One human rights advocated said she just wants to make sure the children are living in the best conditions possible and they're being treated fairly.

She added: "I think we should make sure their rights are being respected particularly their rights as children, as refugees as children. We should be treating them to humanity."

Health and Human Services opened the shelter up to tours this week for non-profits, advocates and elected officials.

The Department of Human and Health services said each day the U.S. government spends 500 dollars per kid for these temporarily housing arrangements; able to hold 800 kids between the ages 13 and 17. They added that most kids do secure sponsors during the roughly 4 weeks they're here from a parent, close family member or relative.

The Department of Health and Human Services says the program took in 33,000 kids last year, the second highest on record. Currently, 2016 is on track to surpass that.

Photo Credit: NBC6.com

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