SAN ANTONIO – Buses carrying migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without an adult family member are arriving at the Freeman Coliseum Expo Halls. Bexar County leaders entered a deal with the federal government to provide temporary shelter at Freeman Coliseum. The children are arriving from the Rio Grande Valley. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff spoke about the agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during a press conference at the county courthouse on Friday afternoon. As many as 2,400 unaccompanied migrant children will be housed at the expo halls at Freeman Coliseum starting next week, Wolff said.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gees order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The family detention centers are on fire and there is no more time for half measures," she wrote. Advocates contend that ICE should release all families from detention especially as the coronavirus has spread rapidly through immigration detention. In court filings revealed Thursday, ICE said 11 children and parents have tested positive for COVID-19 at the family detention center in Karnes City, Texas. The agency says it has released at least 900 people considered to have heightened medical risk and reduced the populations at its three family detention centers.