PECOS, Texas — "It makes everyone very nervous right now," Nancy Burkholder, Pecos resident said.
Anxiety is at a high in the city of Pecos, after residents learned 500 unaccompanied minors are heading to their hometown to live in a man camp turned migrant facility.
Sounds familiar, right?
"We're not heartless and we know that these children need someplace to go, but it brings up concerns of COVID, how many kids have been tested, how many are positive for COVID," Burkholder said.
Residents are concerned about the strain on resources, with Pecos already being a small town.
"There might be a little strain on some of the food sources, but we're kind of used to that, we've had a boom here for 7 years, kind of eased up last year with COVID," Kurt Schlunegger, local hotel owner said.
And they're far from thrilled they've been given little to no information from local leaders or the federal government.
"There's a lot of people just talking and speculating because there's just not enough information for them to give us to squash any concerns," Burkholder said. "How prepared can we be for what we don't even know?"
"I'm not sure if Texas requested to help or if it was shoved down our throats a bit, but we're here if we need to be," Schlunegger said.
Residents are also concerned about how these migrant children will be cared for, how the federal government will staff the mancamp and about what will be done in the long term.
Local officials say the HHS will be providing them with more information Monday morning.
The city is planning to host a press conference Tuesday with the information they learn.
This is also the very first time the city of Pecos has had to house migrants.