Migrant children could be housed at a former school in North Carolina, officials say

A former North Carolina school could become a site for temporarily housing unaccompanied migrant children.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it’s considering starting an “emergency influx shelter” at the vacant American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro.

The federal agency told local officials Tuesday it was evaluating the campus and hoped to soon make a decision about using it to house migrant children. No specific timeline was given in a written statement.

“If selected, the American Hebrew Academy would remain unoccupied but available for use to ensure that children are not kept in border patrol stations for longer than 72 hours,” federal officials said Friday in an email to McClatchy News.

The site review comes as attempts to cross the United States-Mexico border have swelled to the highest levels in two decades.

While some have blamed the surge on President Joe Biden’s administration, the uptick began before he got into office, The New York Times reported. Experts have said many migrants are seeking refuge from hardships in Central America.

Among those arriving at the border are unaccompanied children. HHS said it’s tasked with helping to ensure those kids are “safe, healthy, and unified with family members or other suitable sponsors as quickly and safely as possible.”

To help address the care of migrant children, the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement has multiple strategies, including searching for additional intake sites to limit crowding, according to officials.

The American Hebrew Academy was a private boarding school before it closed in 2019. Nancy Vaughan, mayor of Greensboro, said the school had a high-quality security system due to a potential for terrorism aimed at the campus, the News & Record reported.

The site could “easily transition into a self-contained youth village” where migrant children might stay for weeks to months, according to Guilford County.

“As I understand the program, this would not be a permanent home for unaccompanied minors,” board of commissioners chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston said Thursday in a news release. ”For minors who do not have viable placement options, they will be transitioned out of the village and into the federal foster care system.”

The city of Greensboro said the decisions to evaluate and potentially select the property as a housing site are only in the hands of the federal government, not local officials. No money is expected to come from the city or county.

“If the American Hebrew Academy site is selected, the US Department of Health and Human Services would partner with local non-profits to provide a range of services,” Vaughan wrote in a news release. “In addition, the partnership could potentially bring as many as 800 jobs to the area including food services, clinicians, teachers, and more.”

A statement from HHS didn’t mention any other potential North Carolina sites for unaccompanied migrant children. County officials said there are about 200 similar facilities and programs across 22 states.

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