Texas military base ready for immigrant housing construction

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Defense Department has completed legal and environmental requirements needed to create housing at a Texas military base for unaccompanied children who were detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The department is now waiting for a formal request from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Pentagon says a letter from HHS is required before the actual construction of temporary housing or tents can begin at Goodfellow Air Force Base near San Angelo, Texas. Once that request comes in, the military can begin clearing the land.

Federal officials, however, are still working on the legal framework for the use of Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, to house immigrant families caught crossing the border illegally.