LAWTON, Okla. (AP) -- The federal government will be opening a facility at an Army base in Oklahoma to house migrant children and is considered a customs port in southern New Mexico as another option as existing shelters are overwhelmed.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement said Tuesday it's dealing with a dramatic spike in the number of children crossing the border without parents. The facility at Fort Sill near Lawton, Oklahoma, would be capable of holding 1,400 kids.
Bases in Georgia and Montana were passed over, but officials also are weighing the possibility of establishing an emergency shelter at New Mexico's Santa Teresa port of entry.
Under fire for the death of two children who went through the agency's shelters, the agency says it must set up new facilities to accommodate new arrivals.
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