DENVER – The federal government is abandoning plans to open a temporary shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children in suburban Denver, saying it would take too much time and money to get the site ready.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that it would cost an estimated $28 million to $37 million and take about a year to transform a warehouse at the sprawling Federal Center into a shelter for up to 1,000 children.
The department wants to be ready to handle an expected surge in Central American children crossing the border starting this spring. It's already opened temporary shelters at Holloman Air Force in New Mexico and near Dallas, and is set to open another one in late February in Homestead, Florida.
The agency is looking at other sites to house the children.
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