They’re kids. Housing them at Camp Roberts will not ‘kill our freedom’

Here’s what we know: As many as 5,000 migrant children may be temporarily housed at Camp Roberts, an Army National Guard base that straddles San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.

But if you believe the rumors — which we don’t recommend — as many as 20,000 children could be placed at the aging military camp. By next week, that figure could grow to 40,000 or 50,000.

In other words, there’s a whole lot of fear-mongering going on.

As an example, take a look at what Mike Brown, executive director of The Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business (COLAB) in SLO County wrote in the group’s May 9 newsletter:

• “If some of the older youths escape into the general population and COVID or even tropical diseases start to spread, would the Feds lock down the whole county, forbid travel in or out, or otherwise kill both freedom and the economy?”
• “Will the Government have to divert limited Naci water to service the refugees and staff? What about the regularly scheduled National Guard Training this summer and following summers? Will there be enough water for everyone?”
• “Will law enforcement agencies such as Probation and the Sheriff be impacted by the children who will inevitably escape from the sprawling installation? What if the older youths who escape become homeless and blend into the general population?”
• “Who will provide prenatal and maternal care for young mothers and new infants who will be borne (sic) by some of the teenagers in the population?”

We’re used to Brown’s bombast, but this is over-the-top, even for him.

Brown and other ultra-conservatives would have us believe these children — children! — are going to infect us with deadly diseases, suck up all our water, roam our streets in packs, ruin our economy and rob us of our freedom.

This is nonsense, brought to you by the same people who want to go back to hand-counting ballots and compare vaccine “passports” — which don’t exist in California — to “being chipped like a dog or cat.”

Don’t believe any of it.

Other opposition

At the same time, there are legitimate concerns about housing thousands of children at Camp Roberts, under the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Several social justice organizations have opposed it for humanitarian reasons.

They point out that migrant youths already have been traumatized, and placing them in a large, institutional setting will only add to that.

An online petition, “Oppose the Detention of Children at Camp Roberts,” makes the case for alternatives:

“Rather than using resources to open up facilities like these, the federal government must instead prioritize reuniting children with their families and loved ones as swiftly as possible and when this is not possible, ensuring children are placed in small-scale residential-type facilities with robust and transparent oversight mechanisms,” it says.

Of course children belong with their families — not in a military facility under the custody of a federal agency. If they can’t be quickly reunited with their families, then a small group home or foster family situation would be more humane.

Time magazine reports that some faith-based groups have been running programs elsewhere that place unaccompanied minor children in foster homes.

But those programs take time to set up, and there is a need to house children now.

If the federal government is set on using Camp Roberts, our focus should be on welcoming and advocating for these kids — not spreading baseless rumors and worrying about how this will affect our economy.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors did the right thing by unanimously passing a resolution urging the federal government to take these steps:

• Provide humane conditions and a a full array of services.
• House children no longer than two weeks before reuniting them with family or sponsors.
• Provide them with legal representation.
• Regularly report on the the number of children at the camp; the length of time they’re held there; reports of abuse; contractors working at the site; and any plan to prolong use of Camp Roberts.
• Allow county officials and community-based organizations to tour the facility.

We strongly urge our county Board of Supervisors to make a similar request.

Unanswered questions

We also urge Health and Human Services to keep the community in the loop; there have been multiple complaints about the lack of information.

The city of Paso Robles recently put out a fact sheet — good for them — that provided some information, but there are still unanswered questions.

For instance, there have been concerns raised about hazardous waste problems at older military bases. Is that an issue here?

What will the accommodations look like?

Who will be providing day-to-day care?

Are there opportunities for local residents who may want to volunteer or work at the camp?

What happens to children who aren’t placed with families or sponsors?

Is the agency willing to open its doors to observers?

Bottom line: Transparency is critical. There have been so many reports of migrant children being locked in cages and subjected to abuse that trust has been broken.

We can agree with COLAB on this — the secrecy surrounding this project must end.

If thousands of migrant children are staying in our county — whether it’s for one day or 30 days — we must have assurances that they are receiving the best possible care.

This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 6:00 AM.