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Fort Drum unlikely to house Central American immigrant children

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) says the chances are slim that undocumented children caught trying to cross the US-Mexican border illegally will be housed at Fort Drum.

The Army base is reportedly being considered to house hundreds of Central American immigrant children under a government program as soon as August

But Schumer says he’s spoken with officials at the Department of Health and Human Services:

"I don't think they're considering Fort Drum that seriously," Schumer says. "They've run into several problems there. The bottom line is — what I think should happen is, first, no one who comes across the border illegally should be allowed to stay. They should be treated humanely, adjudicated quickly, and if it's determined they are here legally they can stay. That would be a small number. If it's determined they are here illegally they have to go back home."

Flag-waving protesters in Murietta, California forced border officials to reroute busloads of Central American immigrant families and children that had been sent there from Texas this week.

Now the government is scouting for additional space to house the children.

Military bases in California and Texas have been used to house refugee children who come to the U.S. without parents.

Schumer says the policy of not stopping unaccompanied minors coming in illegally across the border particularly needs to end. The senator blames illegal immigration runners known as coyotes for the recent influx of central american children coming in to the U.S.