Spent a long day touring the newly opened Emergency Intake Site (EIS) for unaccompanied minors at the San Diego Convention Center. Wanted to share a few thoughts on what I observed. The facility is currently detaining about 700 girls & at capacity will hold ~1400. (thread)
I will start with the positive: this is a significantly safer place for these girls than CBP custody. CBP is a deadly & dangerous place for UCs & it is a positive step that the administration is moving so quickly to open HHS facilities to get kids out of CBP. It will save lives.
The SD Convention Center is HUGE. Considering it’s only been open a few days, the infrastructure created is impressive. An on-site medical clinic, showers, laundry & 100s of cots set up w/ appropriate social distancing. Covid testing & isolation protocols are strictly adhered to.
The girls we met seemed to be okay. They looked fairly relaxed given the context. One group was playing Twister, others kicking a soccer ball. They smiled & waved & said gracias when we said bienvenidas. Others were eating lunch, the same lunch we later had, which was decent.
The staff seemed attentive. They told us about how some girls were scared of the many escalators on the property at first. Everyone was wearing a mask. TVs set up in the intake areas with Netflix ready to go. Backpacks with toiletries and clean clothes were being handed out.
The facility was clean & felt relatively safe. That being said, it is still a huge congregate care facility and decades of child welfare research tells us this is not good for children. It appears some kids may spend 30-35 days in the facility which I really can not imagine.
As I walked around and saw the endless rows of cots, I could not help but wonder how many of the girls may have been separated from family members at the border before being sent to this Convention Center? reuters.com/article/us-usa…
Big takeaway from today is that these EIS centers may be a necessary response to this moment but should not move forward any expansion of a carceral system for kids. ORR needs to move in direction of child welfare agencies around the US & see detaining children as a last resort
Unaccompanied children should be w/ families first. There should be an assumption of fitness for the families of immigrant children rather than an assumption that they require vetting. ORR is moving in this direction, but the movement needs to be accelerated to best protect kids.
Instead of an expansion of shelters we should move towards community based programs that link families to social services. We should invest in universal legal representation for all kids facing deportation. These are alternatives to detention that protect kids’ rights & safety.
There was a lot that gave me hope today. I was proud of how welcoming CA is to these kids seeking protection. But I was also reminded that we should seize this moment to make bold changes to our system that will better serve these children, their families and our communities.
What I saw today is not kids in cages. It is also not a crisis or a “surge.” It was a lot of scared, tired girls seeking safety & many people trying to help. But housing kids like this is not ideal. We can & must move towards long-term solutions that truly #WelcomeWithDignity
I will end by saying:
Kids being detained in govt custody need lawyers not teddy bears.
In almost all cases, kids are safer with family first because #FamiliesBelongTogether.
Every child who comes seeking protection should be kept safe & then reunited w/ family w/o delay.
Kids being detained in govt custody need lawyers not teddy bears.
In almost all cases, kids are safer with family first because #FamiliesBelongTogether.
Every child who comes seeking protection should be kept safe & then reunited w/ family w/o delay.
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