GREENSBORO, N.C. — As of Friday morning, the country's largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children is now open in Greensboro.
City leaders say the site is now ready to take in unaccompanied children who entered the southern U.S. border without parents or legal guardians.
It's set up to receive up to 800 boys and girls between 13-17 years old.
Representative Kathy Manning said that this site is an overflow facility. So once similar facilities across the country are full, only then will children be brought to Greensboro.
The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement runs about 200 similar facilities in 22 states. It leased the Hebrew Academy through 2027.
Representative Manning said, "these kids who are coming here are kids who have been traumatized for the most part. They are kids who have had a really tough time leaving very difficult situations in their home communities. They had very difficult journeys to the United States. A lot of them have been trafficked on their way here. Not to Greensboro, but trafficked before they got to the United States. They have been abused by handlers who have brought them to the US so when they come to a facility they need health checks and they need mental health checks.”
The Department of Health and Human Services told us it's their legal obligation to provide for the care of all unaccompanied children referred to The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement - until they are safely released to a vetted sponsor. Representative Manning said this process could take up to three weeks, meaning the children will be housed for that length of time at the site.
The department said children at this facility will have access to medical treatment, legal services, translation services, education, and be able to connect with family daily.
We've talked to many neighbors throughout this process who have been both for, and against the plans for this site. We circled back with a few to see how they feel now that the facility is open.
Phil and Maggie Shook live close to the site. Phil explained, "this is an expanded neighborhood with some high value homes in it, mostly high value homes. And I'm real concerned about property values but I'm also really concerned about the wasteful spending that's going on out there."
Maggie Shook added, "my immediate concern, and biggest concern is, how will they be supervised? How will any number of adults keep a teenager from getting over that fence if they want to get over that fence?"
Slaven Popovic lives across the street from the site.
He said, "as long as they are helping people. All children deserve an opportunity to be somewhere, so I'm OK with them being wherever they want to be."
DHHS said they will alert state, local, and federal officials before children are brought in. Representative Manning said she was told that could be late Spring, or early Summer.
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