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In Texas, Migrant Children Spend The Holidays In Temporary Camps

Families of Central American immigrants turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico on September 8, 2014 in McAllen, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Families of Central American immigrants turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico on September 8, 2014 in McAllen, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Large numbers of unaccompanied minors from Central America continue to cross over the U.S. Border in waves. As permanent detention centers fill, a few temporary shelters are popping up in Texas and elsewhere.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks with Eddie Walker, owner of the Sabine Creek Ranch Camp in Rockwall, Texas, about the nearly 200 children who arrived at his camp this week.

While the government pays him a rate similar to what he charges for a night of summer camp, “they’re definitely not in camp. They are in the custody of the federal government, so they’re not swimming, they’re not doing our zip-lines or ropes course, or things like that. Primarily their recreation is gonna be playing soccer, basketball, just some different activities like that. They’ll watch some movies; they’ll have arts and crafts, just to fill the time, but we’re not running a summer camp program like we traditionally would in the summer.”

Guest

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