SAN ANTONIO – The remaining young male migrants who temporarily called Freeman Coliseum home left the facility Monday.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Precinct 1 County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores, federal officials, volunteers, vendors and others said goodbye to the boys, ages 13-17.
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Wolff and Clay-Flores wished the boys good luck on their journey and in their future endeavors.
One of the boys gifted Wolff with a handmade drawing to thank him for the kindness shown to him and his fellow travelers, county officials said.
The Bexar County-owned facility had been housing the young migrants, who are mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, since late March after the Bexar County Coliseum Advisory Board entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services and Office of Refugee Services to house up to 2,010 children at the facility for six weeks.
According to a news release, at maximum capacity, the facility housed 2,010 boys. The vast majority of them, who fled violence and poverty in their native country due to back-to-back hurricanes, were unified with their sponsor and/or family.
The humanitarian operation wasn’t without controversy.
At one point, Gov. Greg Abbott said that he received complaints that some of the boys were being sexually abused, not being fed and the facility was understaffed. Wolff called the allegations, which were never proven, false.
Also, three of the minors ran away from the facility and were never found.
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