HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) --
The controversial Southwest Key children's center may open later this week after lawmakers toured the facilities at 419 Emancipation.Lawmakers have toured the facilities near downtown and say the center may open as soon as this week.
I just met with the lawyer for @SouthwestKey and she claims that they might open facility at 419 Emancipation as early as this week if they pass state inspection. I’d heard they don’t have proper city permits but now they claim to have them. #NoBabyJails #FamiliesBelongTogether
— Sylvia R. Garcia (@SenatorSylvia) July 31, 2018
State Senator Sylvia Garcia met with a Southwest Key lawyer, who said they had all the necessary city permits to open.
Since separated children must be reunited with their parents, the facility will hold unaccompanied minors who illegally cross the border.
Officials say up to 240 children will be housed at the center. State records show Southwest Keys already operates 15 similar facilities across the state of Texas, five in the greater Houston area.
Dr. Juan Sanchez, CEO of Southwest Keys, told ABC13 in June that the facility is not a detention center, but a state-licensed "childcare facility."
