Will detained children on US border find refuge in Erie? More questions than answers
Jim MartinThe owner of the Pennsylvania International Academy, which operates a dormitory adjacent to Erie Bank Sports Park in Summit Township, isn't talking about his offer to house some of the thousands of immigrant children who have been detained after fleeing their countries south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
And the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Health and Human Services haven't yet made public a decision regarding that offer.
Glen Renaud, former owner of what was Family First Sports Park and the current owner of the academy and the dormitory where it is based, has declined to discuss his offer, which was first reported by Erie News Now.
"I can't comment," Renaud said Thursday.
Meanwhile, the staff at the academy referred questions to Renaud.
Dylanna Grasinger, executive director for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Erie field office, said she hasn't been involved in the decision-making process and has no firsthand knowledge of what Renaud has proposed.
But Grasinger does have an idea of what the government will be looking for as it tries to find temporary homes for more than 18,000 children who have fled their countries and are seeking refuge in the United States.
"At the federal level, HHS and FEMA are looking across the United States for facilities that are large enough to bring in and care for 500 kids," she said.
It's not immediately known whether the academy meets that threshold.
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Published sources have indicated hosts would be paid under a government contract.
The San Diego Convention Center is among numerous sites across the country that have offered to temporarily house unaccompanied children seeking asylum.
Children are expected to be housed there for up to three months, with an average stay being about 30 days.
According to a report Thursday in Border Report, the Office of Personnel Management issued a letter March 25 "to entice federal workers “to serve up to a 120-day voluntary deployment detail” helping the unaccompanied migrant children" in Dallas, San Diego, San Antonio and Fort Bliss, Texas.
Andrew Eisenberger, press secretary to U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, of Butler, R-16th Dist., said the congressman isn't involved in making a potential match between the Pennsylvania International Academy and the federal government.
But Eisenberger said Kelly's office was able to confirm that the Summit Township facility had been assessed for its suitability.
In an email to Kelly's office, the Department of Homeland Security wrote: "FEMA is assisting HHS with contracting and technical assistance including finding sites that can be assessed for suitability. I can confirm that the site has been assessed, but the assessment is currently being reviewed by HHS and there has been no decision on whether it can be used by HHS to house unaccompanied children.”
The goal will not be long-term detention, Grasinger said.
"The idea is to reconnect these children with sponsors here (in the United States), a family member, a friend who will take them in. The goal is to reconnect these kids with people who will care for them."
Local sponsors with no connection to the children are unlikely to be considered.
"You can't just say 'I am going to take in these random kids,'" Grasinger said. "It's all federally approved."
Eventually, she said, the children will have to be adjudicated and formal decisions made about their futures. What can't happen is for them to be sent back immediately.
"It's not an option," she said. "These kids have traveled hundreds of miles for good reasons. They are fleeing. It's a crisis situation all around."
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Wherever the children are sheltered, Grasinger said they are deserving of compassion.
"We need to be responsible," she said. "They are little people. They are children."
More:How will Biden's immigration plans, executive orders affect Erie's refugees, immigrants?
Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNMartin.