Permanent unaccompanied migrant children shelters could be built in Florida, Virginia, California

Officials said the facilities could open in spring 2020.

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HHS said it operates more than 170 facilities and programs and has about 9,500 unaccompanied migrant children in its care.

U.S. Rep. Daren Soto, D-Kissimmee, said in a statement Tuesday, "It is a shame that it has come to this."

"The conditions at these facilities have been terrible, they have a history of human rights abuses and children dying in their care and they continue to remain insufficiently accountable to Congress," he said. "If Central Florida is going to have a detention center, then we must have humanitarian standards and unannounced congressional inspections to ensure proper treatment."

HHS said it is a child welfare agency that operates state-licensed residential centers, not a law enforcement agency that operates detention centers.