Cities Offer Shelter to Migrant Minors

Wall Street Journal

By Miriam Jordan

July 22, 2014

Cities Offer Shelter to Migrant Minors 

Leaders of several U.S. cities and at least one state have offered to take in some of the thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America who have swarmed the southern U.S. border in recent months. The invitations follow vocal opposition in other places to housing the children.

Los Angeles, New York City, Syracuse, N.Y., and Dallas County in Texas are among localities that have said they would allow minors to be housed in federally funded facilities. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, meanwhile, has expressed willingness to shelter up to 1,000 children at military bases that were used for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

Border Patrol agents have apprehended about 57,000 unaccompanied minors trying to enter the country illegally since October. Mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, many are fleeing gangs and poverty. The Pew Research Center said Tuesday that 117% more unaccompanied children age 12 and younger were apprehended in the first eight months of this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, than in the entire previous fiscal year.

The youngsters remain in federal custody until they have received medical screening and can be released to an adult sponsor. But the recent surge in arrivals has caused a shortage of space and a rush by federal officials to find additional housing options.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, said that as a father and mayor, he couldn't ignore the plight of children. "We are working to address the humanitarian crisis on our border," he said.

He said the mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs recently convened a meeting of 50 local organizations to discuss how to help. They will partner with the federal government to identify temporary shelters. The city wasn't asked to provide resources or services, a spokesman said.

"There has been an absence of local officials saying we want to help," said Stephanie Miner, the Democratic mayor of Syracuse. She said the city of 150,000 in upstate New York has been in talks with authorities to house minors in vacant buildings at a Sisters of St. Francis convent.

President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency spending to bolster border enforcement, fund more facilities to house minors and give them legal assistance. The House and Senate are moving forward on separate bills with no clear deal in sight. Senate Democrats are preparing legislation to allocate $2.7 billion this calendar year to the issue, an effort expected to meet resistance from Republicans as too expensive.

Most places that have been receptive to the minors already have sizable immigrant populations and are led by Democrats.

"These moderate to liberal mayors and governors are speaking to their constituents," said Louis DeSipio, a political-science professor at the University of California, Irvine. "They are also giving the president some coverage by saying, 'We don't want these kids crossing but we will be responsible to the ones who are here.' "

Towns in Arizona, California, Michigan and Maryland have resisted efforts by federal authorities to have migrants housed there. Leaders say having them in their communities will encourage more illegal immigration, undermine public safety and health, and strain budgets.

Indeed, on Tuesday, six Republican governors signed a letter to Mr. Obama calling for a plan to deal with the crisis and expressing concerns that many young illegal immigrants who are placed with families are not appearing for their immigration hearings.

"We are concerned that there will be significant numbers who will end up using the public schools, social services and health systems largely funded by the states," wrote the governors of Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin.

Until minors are released to caretakers, they are housed in Department of Health and Human Services shelters. Agency spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said the average length of stay per child is less than 35 days, with about 9,000 minors now in HHS facilities. The agency has a stable of 100 sites, but to meet soaring demand it has set up three extra shelters at military bases in California, Oklahoma and Texas.

Government teams have been fanning out across the country to evaluate potential facilities, doing so quietly to avoid controversy. Mr. Wolfe of HHS declined to disclose information about potential sites. "Facilities will be announced when they are identified as viable options," he said.

HHS regulations say minors don't leave a facility, even for recreation, until they are released to a sponsor. A fact sheet provided to Syracuse officials says: "HHS pays for and provides all services for the children through its network of grantees. This includes providing food, clothing, education and medical screening to the children."

Local opponents still have criticized Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins for proposing that three vacant facilities house minors. In Massachusetts, critics said they aim to thwart Mr. Patrick's plan, as it would strain their communities.

Syracuse Mayor Miner said there was no cost tied to housing the children "that gives me pause or makes me concerned."

"If a child breaks his arm, he will go to our hospital," she said, but otherwise, "all services are provided at the facility."

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com