Undocumented Central American Children May Be Housed In Closed Colleges In Virginia

A bus leaves the entrance of the U. S. Border Patrol facility on Saturday, June 7, 2014 in Nogales, Ariz. Arizona officials said they are rushing federal supplies to this makeshift holding center in the southern part of the state that's housing hundreds of migrant children and is running low on the basics. (AP Photo/Brian Skoloff) (AP1980)

U.S. officials are looking into temporarily housing hundreds of Central American immigrant children and teenagers on the campus of a closed college in rural Virginia.

Administration for Children and Families spokesman Kenneth J. Wolfe told The Associated Press in an email Monday that the idea is on hold to allow the community to discuss it. He said a Thursday meeting is scheduled on the idea to house the immigrants at St. Paul's College in the tiny tobacco-farming community of Lawrenceville.

Brunswick County Sheriff Brian Roberts says residents are worried about security and are upset no one told them about the plan.

The children and teenagers were caught entering the country illegally following a surge in border crossings. They are being held on an interim basis at military bases.