U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday the opening of a soft-sided facility in Laredo, Texas. Since April 2020, CBP has seen a steady increase in border encounters from the Western Hemisphere due in part to worsening economic conditions brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic and natural disasters affecting the area.
The intent of the soft-sided facility is to provide a suitable facility for agents to house and process singles adults, family member units, and noncitizen unaccompanied children arriving at the Southwest Border. This facility will have more accommodations and is significantly larger than an average Border Patrol station detention area. The projected capacity limit for the Laredo soft-sided facility is 500 and will augment station capacities.
The facility will be weatherproof, climate-controlled, and is expected to provide ample areas for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene. The new facility’s design is similar to that of recently constructed soft-sided facilities in other Border Patrol Sectors. The 100,000 square foot facility sits on 30 acres on Highway 83, approximately 15 miles south of Laredo, Texas. The temporary facility will provide additional holding and processing capacity for Laredo Sector Border Patrol.
