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I m Winston Gieseke, philanthropy and special sections editor for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, bringing you the latest news of the goings-on here in the Golden State.
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First lady visits Delano alongside Newsom
First lady Jill Biden landed at Meadows Airport in Bakersfield on Wednesday afternoon and made her way to Delano, a farming community of 52,000 people in northern Kern County, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. (If the term first partner is new to you, you re not alone.)
By CAITLIN M. KENNEY | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 1, 2021 WASHINGTON The Pentagon is reviewing a request to house migrant children at Camp Roberts in California, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. “We do have the request in the building. We are analyzing it as we have the others,” Kirby told reporters during a news briefing at the Pentagon. On Tuesday, the Department Health and Human Services, who submitted the request for support to the DOD, conducted a site visit of the National Guard base in central California to determine whether it could be used as another location to temporarily house migrant children.
–Hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children could be sent to Camp Roberts Army National Guard facility in the coming weeks.
A memo sent Wednesday to Camp Roberts staff reads, “The Department of Defense has received a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children. Specifically, HHS has requested use of an area of land at Camp Roberts, California. If the request is approved, we will send you all further instructions.”
The California Department of Health and Human Services is working with Camp Roberts to house migrants between the ages of 4-18-years-old for 4-6 weeks, however, that could be extended for several months, if necessary. The initial request is for 1,500 children to be placed at Camp Roberts, but the figure could go higher. The children will gradually be reunited with family members in the United States or placed in foster families or other appropriate institutions.
HHS seeks to house migrant children at California s Camp Roberts
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection s temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas, pictured February 25, handle an influx of migrants. To adjust to the growing need for facilities to temporarily house unaccompanied minors, the Health and Human Services Department asked the Pentagon to create temporary shelter at Camp Roberts in California. File Photo by Jaime Rodriguez Sr/U.S. Customs and Border Protection | License Photo
April 1 (UPI) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has again asked the Pentagon for use of one of its military bases to temporarily house migrant children, a military official said Thursday.