“An Albion nonprofit that specializes in residential programs and child behavioral health programs will house up to 240 unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border.
Starr Commonwealth said it is opening its campus in Albion after an urgent request from the U.S. federal government.
The plan, according to Starr Commonwealth, is to house up to 240 migrant children ages 12 and younger. They will provide them with temporary shelter while it works to unite them with their family or sponsors.
Starr is also providing bilingual caregivers who have a background in child welfare. They expect each child to stay for 30 days or less.
All kids will be screened for COVID-19 before traveling to Michigan and screened again when they arrive.
“Our expertise in healing trauma and building resilience can truly benefit the children who will be coming to our campus,” Carey said. “Many of us have all watched the heartbreaking pictures on the nightly news of children who have been abandoned in the desert, far away from home and without their families, and wondered how we can help. Starr has safe beds, secure cottages and a campus of caring people – this is how we can, and must, help.”
When minors arrive at the border alone, they’re first detained by Customers and Border Protection, according to supervising attorney Rebeca Ontiveros-Chavez with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Once in CBP custody, the children will be assessed to determine if in fact they are deemed unaccompanied, meaning they are under 18 and not traveling with a parent or a legal guardian. Once designated unaccompanied, the children are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the Department of Health and Human Services.
ORR has different subcontractors across the country to provide temporary or long-term housing for the children.”
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