Paso Robles mayor shares concerns over plan to house migrant kids at Camp Roberts
The city of Paso Robles said in a news release Friday that officials have confirmed the possibility of relocating as many as 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children from California’s southern border to shelter facilities at Camp Roberts.
Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin said he was briefed on the potential relocation by federal officials during a teleconference Friday.
“I expressed concerns about the impacts on local traffic, medical services, educational services and housing. I was told that, if children were transported to Camp Roberts, they would not arrive all at one time, but in groups of a few hundred,” Martin said in a news release. “I was also assured medical and educational services would be handled on-base and would not impact local agencies.”
The release says Martin also expressed concerns about the needs of Department of Health and Human Services and other federal staff coming from out of the area, and “informed officials of the already tight housing market and the city’s reliance on local hotels for the tourism trade.”
“I explained the housing situation clearly,” Martin said. “I insisted that, unlike similar operations in urban areas, this could have significant impacts on our community. I was assured I would be informed on plans as they develop.”
Martin said he has requested more information and assistance from state and federal representatives, and has reached out to Congressman Salud Carbajal, state Sen. John Laird, and state Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham for assistance in “minimizing impacts of this operation, should it be executed, and keeping the public informed.”
The possible influx to the Army National Guard base was confirmed earlier this week when San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said the federal government informed the county on Monday that Camp Roberts would host the children.
Although creating the shelter will be “an enormous effort,” no local resources will be required, Ortiz-Legg said.
It’s unclear when the children would begin arriving or how long they would be housed here.
Unaccompanied migrant children are initially held in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody (CBP) on the border before being transferred to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shelter, like the one at Camp Roberts.
Once family members or sponsors are located, the children are transferred out of HHS custody.
As of Tuesday, 735 children were in CBP custody and 22,174 children were in HHS custody, according to HHS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“While the Biden administration is working with host countries to reduce youth migration, my request to the community is to consider the trauma and stress these children have experienced,” Ortiz-Legg said in the release. “They took incredible risks so they might have a future chance to thrive and contribute in a safe society.”
