Border Patrol must care for migrant children who wait in camps for processing, a judge says

By REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has ruled that migrant children in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border waiting to be processed by Border Patrol are in the agency’s custody. That means the federal government must quickly place them in safe facilities. The makeshift camps have become a flashpoint of controversy. Advocates argue the federal government has responsibility for the children. The federal government says smugglers send migrants to the camps and that they’re not yet in Border Patrol custody because they haven’t yet been arrested. Advocates praised Wednesday’s decision from a federal judge in California. Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.