Will migrant kids be housed at Camp Roberts? Congressman says a decision will come soon
Rep. Salud Carbajal on Thursday said the federal government will “hand down its decision soon” on whether Camp Roberts will house migrant children from the U.S.-Mexico border in northern San Luis Obispo County.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently requested the Department of Defense (DoD) allow migrant children to stay “on an area of land” at the Army National Guard base.
DoD approved this request on April 2, said Army Lt. Col. Christian Mitchell, a DoD spokesman. HHS “has not yet made a final decision as to whether Camp Roberts will serve this purpose,” the Democrat said in a news release.
The Central Coast congressman issued the release with Rep. Jimmy Panetta, who represents Monterey County, which is also home to a portion of the base.
Camp Roberts is one of three military installations throughout the country that could house unaccompanied migrant children currently living in crowded shelters on the border, Mitchell said.
As of Friday, there are 2,515 children in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody (CBP) and 19,798 children in HHS care, HHS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported.
Unaccompanied children who come to the U.S.-Mexico border are processed while in CBP custody and then sent to an HHS facility until they’re released to family members or a sponsor, Carbajal’s release said.
In addition to Camp Roberts, two Texas military bases could also house migrant children: Fort Bliss, an Army post in El Paso, and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Mitchell said. Fort Bliss began receiving children in late March, the El Paso Times reported.
Children housed at Camp Roberts would live in temporary facilities constructed for that purpose, Mitchell said.
Carbajal lauded President Joe Biden’s administration “for working quickly to evaluate sites across the country, so we can alleviate overcrowding and ensure children receive adequate care.”
“Recently, I visited one of the many HHS facilities for unaccompanied minors who crossed the southern border and were awaiting placement and legal processing,” Panetta said in the release. “I found the facility, located in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to be clean, spacious, and safe. If HHS decides that Camp Roberts will be used as a location for one of its many facilities to temporarily house unaccompanied minors, Representative Carbajal and I will ensure that the facility meets those same standards.”
HHS is expected to make its final decision soon, and Carbajal and Panetta “remain in close contact with HHS leadership to provide oversight during the evaluation process,” the release said.
“Camp Roberts is a safe and well-run site and, if selected, I will keep working with the Biden administration to provide appropriate resources to the facility and will closely monitor conditions to ensure children are cared for,” Carbajal said in the release.
This story was originally published April 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
