The San Diego Convention Center will be used to house unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the United States, local 10news reports.
The convention center is expected to be used to house migrants for about three months. The location is not currently in use to host events due to the coronavirus pandemic, but has been used to house homeless Californians instead. The homeless people currently living there will be transferred into the city's shelter system before the migrants arrive.
"The City and County will support this federally funded effort by providing vital services to these vulnerable children who came to our country seeking safety," said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and County Supervisor Chair Nathan Fletcher in a joint statement.
"We are working closely with our federal partners to finalize the details for preparing to receive these young people and provide them with care, compassion and a safe space to transition while they are reunited with families or sponsors."
"Some of these children became separated from their family during their long and dangerous journey, some are orphans, and others were sent by desperate parents with hopes of delivering their children to a safe haven away from trauma, poverty, and danger in their home country," Mayor Gloria said in a separate statement.
The official date upon which the convention center will open for migrants is not yet set.
It is expected that children staying in the facility will remain there for 30-35 days, and will be provided food, healthcare, and other essential services. Children will not be allowed to leave the convention center as long as they remain there, however.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Refugee Resettlement Program will provide the funding for the program. The convention center is now searching for volunteers and employees to work with the children.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration faces an overflow of migrants crossing the border in recent months, especially children, with over 14,000 unaccompanied minors currently being held in federal custody. Migrant holding facilities along the southern border are overflowing with migrants, with many criticizing the condition in which migrants are kept in within the facilities.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for the ongoing border crisis, suggesting that their lax approach to immigration is fueling a wave of migrants seeking to enter the country.
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