TORNILLO — With the number of immigrant children separated from their parents reaching nearly 2,000, this small town in far west Texas is preparing for young Central Americans who will be housed in a temporary shelter on the border with Mexico.

White tents are visible at the Tornillo-Marcelino Serna Port of Entry, about a 30-minute drive southeast from El Paso. An initial 360 are expected immediately, with a capacity for hundreds more. By Saturday, dozens of unaccompanied minors were already inside the white tents, confirmed Texas state Democrat Rep. Mary González, whose district includes the Tornillo area. The shelter was last used in 2016 when a surge of Central Americans — migrant children and families — were housed here.

On Father's Day, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke is scheduled to lead a march to Tornillo.

The drama being played out here is a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy first announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April that requires that all immigrants who cross the border be charged with a crime for illegal entry. Last week he selected a biblical passage to justify compliance, generating criticism from religious leaders.

In the past, relatively few immigrants faced criminal charges and most ended up in the civil immigration courts.

"The government is clearly overwhelmed and the victims are families separated from their children," said Ruben Garcia, who heads Annunciation House, which provides temporary shelter for migrants.

Sessions says children are being split from their parents because they can't remain with the parents when they're arrested in the criminal justice system.

Parents in this area, preparing to celebrate Father's Day weekend, weren't happy with the administration's move.

"As a Hispanic and as a father I feel we're under attack," said Victor Rodriguez, 55, who works in a factory. "I cannot imagine children with European backgrounds facing the same thing. This isn't right."

Tabatha Waldrop, 47, who recently moved to the area from Richardson, said she's not in favor of people breaking the law, but separating children from parents is a "new low."

"The hardest 18 months of my life was when the government [Child Protection Services] separated me from my daughter," she said, pointing to her daughter, Leslie, now a teen. "I don't care what the facts are, or what the policy is, you don't separate children from parents."

Pecan farmer Shannon Ivey, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said he doesn't like that the shelter is going up in Tornillo, not too far from his groves.

Ivey said he remains "pretty pleased" with the president and blames the Congress for not fixing the immigration problem.

"It's a complex issue," he said. "We separate Americans who commit crimes from their children."

The port of entry here in Tornillo is named for Marcelino Serna, the most-decorated Texas soldier in World War I, who joined the Army in 1917 to avoid deportation to his native Mexico.

A report by The Associated Press said Friday that nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families at the U.S. border over a six-week period, according to Department of Homeland Security.

The figures show that 1,995 minors were separated from 1,940 adults from April 19 through May 31. The separations were not broken down by age, and included separations for illegal entry, immigration violations or possible criminal conduct by the adult.

The new figures are for people who tried to enter the U.S. between official border crossings.

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles told the El Paso Times that his own jail system is filling up because of an influx of federal inmates in the wake of the zero-tolerance crackdown.

"We have seen an increase over the months," said Wiles. The Times reported that Trump's policy could be contributing to a 30 percent increase in the number federal inmates in the jail.

Where the jail once housed between 700 and 725 federal inmates, it now houses about 900, Wiles said. He said the majority are facing immigration charges.

El Paso County has a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to provide as many as 500 beds for federal inmates. Wiles said the county takes more federal inmates when there's room.

Gonzalez said in a statement, "I am very concerned about the placement of children in the shelter at the Tornillo Port of Entry. This is not a place that was built to house children, nor is it a location that has adequate numbers of counselors or therapists to assist these children."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.