Report: FEMA Looking to House Illegals in Empty Big Box Stores, Aircraft Hangars

The Obama administration is reportedly looking to house illegal immigrant juveniles in empty big box stores and even airplane hangars across the nation.

According to a report in The New Republic, “in recent weeks, FEMA representatives have sent mass emails to advocacy networks throughout the country soliciting potential detention facilities and offering guidelines for acceptable spaces.” Suggestions for “workable locations” include “Office space, warehouse, big box store, shopping mall with interior concourse, event venues, hotel or dorms, aircraft hangers [sic].”

In addition, facilities must reportedly be within “50 miles of major city (Pop ~200K)/airport; available for lease; able to be fenced or have adequate security.” According to The New Republic, “showers and toilets are preferable, according to the guidelines, but not necessary–so long as there is outdoor space for ‘staging areas for shower/restroom/laundry/kitchen trailers, etc.'”

The outlet notes that the Obama administration is “scrambling to find adequate facilities wherever it can” and concedes that moving illegal immigrant juveniles to places far from the border is “troubling to many Americans, as if the further inside the U.S. we detain the children, the more likely it is they’ll stay here for good.”

The New Republic also emphasizes that “since the failures of Hurricane Katrina, faith in FEMA to adequately respond to large-scale crisis situations has remained shaky at best,” and “these pleas for empty big box stores do not restore much confidence.”

There have been nearly 60,000 illegal immigrant juveniles who have been apprehended since October of last year, and federal officials expect at least 150,000 more will be in the next fiscal year.

The Obama administration has already released 30,340 illegal immigrant juveniles to “sponsors” across the nation this year, often without notifying state officials. Moreover, the administration, as Breitbart News reported, has made inquires to states like Massachusetts about the availability of empty shopping malls where illegal immigrants could be potentially housed.