We just received a press release from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). They are a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). They informed us of the following:
“the Starr Commonwealth Emergency Intake Site (EIS) in Albion, Michigan, received their first UC today, totaling approximately 100 children.”
They went on to explain that:
“The children will be welcomed by staff, receive a medical check, and be provided needed clothing, toiletries, food and snacks, as well as a safe place to rest.”
How many “unaccompanied minors” can Starr Commonwealth accommodate? Last week we reported that Starr Commonwealth in a press release stated that they could “shelter for up to 240 unaccompanied migrant children ages 12 and younger”.
For over 15 years, advocates have been working to improve this system to protect the needs of children. We call on Vice President Harris and the Biden administration to approach this issue with the urgency, accountability, and transparency it deserves we can’t be back here in another year. Children’s futures depend on it.
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The Biden administration will soon open an emergency facility in the northern border state of Michigan to hold children who come over the southern border without parents, a move that will require flying young children across the country.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement will stand up an emergency intake center in Albion, Michigan, to house up to 240 children who are age 12 and under. While HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has worked to build up its licensed bed capacity, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage the increasing numbers of [unaccompanied child] referrals from [Customs and Border Protection], HHS said in a statement issued Friday evening.
WATCH: U.S. Spends $6 Million Per Day to House Unaccompanied Migrant Children
9 Apr 2021
According to Health and Human Services, the federal government is detaining more than 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children nationwide. To accommodate the latest surge, HHS opened 13 new detention facilities since March 1 and are designed to house the children until sponsors receive them.
According to the latest HHS data, they hold 16,000 unaccompanied children and another 4,000 are about to be transferred from Border Patrol custody. The HHS estimates the cost to detain a child in the newest facilities, which they refer to as Emergency Intake Sites (EIS), is $775 per day. In other long-term facilities, they indicate that cost to be approximately $275 per day. The temporary shelter numbers are those in excess of 13,500 permanent facility beds, meaning the agency is spending nearly $4 million a day on long-term UACs and nearly $2 million per day on EIS shelters. This does not account for the exp