<p>Faced with surging numbers of unaccompanied minors at the southern US border, President Joe Biden's administration reopened a temporary reception facility that on Tuesday housed more than 200 teenagers, the Department of Health and Human Services said.</p>.<p>The facility, located in Carrizo Springs, Texas, was initially intended to house oil workers and was used to accommodate young migrants for a month in July 2019, under Donald Trump's administration.</p>.<p>Dealing with "increasing numbers" of unaccompanied children, as well as restrictions on structures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration reopened the facility on February 22.</p>.<p>As of Tuesday, 214 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 were living there, HHS said in a statement.</p>.<p>The number of underage migrants arriving alone at the border with Mexico had fallen to a low of 741 in April 2020 and has been rising steadily since, to 5,871 in January.</p>.<p>The arrivals represent "a challenge at the border that we are managing," interior secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday, denying that there was a border crisis.</p>.<p>The opening of the Carrizo facility, capable of housing 700 people, has raised eyebrows among migrant rights activists and organizations.</p>.<p>"Carrizo Springs detention facility cannot become the status quo for children," Amnesty International said.</p>.<p>In a weekend interview, Biden said he hoped to be able to close the facility quickly.</p>.<p>The HHS department plans to speed up the verification process for "sponsors," generally family members, with whom unaccompanied underage migrants can be reunited.</p>.<p>This would reduce the length of their stay in such facilities and avoid overcrowding if arrivals remain high.</p>
<p>Faced with surging numbers of unaccompanied minors at the southern US border, President Joe Biden's administration reopened a temporary reception facility that on Tuesday housed more than 200 teenagers, the Department of Health and Human Services said.</p>.<p>The facility, located in Carrizo Springs, Texas, was initially intended to house oil workers and was used to accommodate young migrants for a month in July 2019, under Donald Trump's administration.</p>.<p>Dealing with "increasing numbers" of unaccompanied children, as well as restrictions on structures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration reopened the facility on February 22.</p>.<p>As of Tuesday, 214 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 were living there, HHS said in a statement.</p>.<p>The number of underage migrants arriving alone at the border with Mexico had fallen to a low of 741 in April 2020 and has been rising steadily since, to 5,871 in January.</p>.<p>The arrivals represent "a challenge at the border that we are managing," interior secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday, denying that there was a border crisis.</p>.<p>The opening of the Carrizo facility, capable of housing 700 people, has raised eyebrows among migrant rights activists and organizations.</p>.<p>"Carrizo Springs detention facility cannot become the status quo for children," Amnesty International said.</p>.<p>In a weekend interview, Biden said he hoped to be able to close the facility quickly.</p>.<p>The HHS department plans to speed up the verification process for "sponsors," generally family members, with whom unaccompanied underage migrants can be reunited.</p>.<p>This would reduce the length of their stay in such facilities and avoid overcrowding if arrivals remain high.</p>