Moffett Field Won't Be Used As Detention Center For Migrant Kids

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — Moffett Field, a federal airfield in Mountain View, won't be used as a detention center to house migrant children, according to Rep. Anna Eshoo.

Eshoo, whose district includes Mountain View and Palo Alto, said in a statement Thursday that she was informed by the Department of Health and Human Services of the decision.

"As chairwoman of the Health Subcommittee that oversees HHS, I will continue to do everything I can to ensure unaccompanied children arriving at our borders and in the care of HHS are treated humanely and with dignity," Eshoo said.

NASA, which manages the airfield, said earlier in the week that federal agencies, at the request of HHS, should determine if they have "vacant properties" that could be used to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children.

Federal officials are grappling with a recent influx in migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 13,000 children are in U.S. custody as of this week, according to CBS.

On Monday, more than 50 demonstrators protested in front of Moffett Field, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. They pushed back against the use of any property as a detention center for children. One protestor told the newspaper that it would feel like a "betrayal."

Moffett Field, located off Highway 101, includes the 1,000-acre Ames Research Center, a major hub for NASA in Silicon Valley.