The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is exploring using the former American Hebrew Academy site in Greensboro “as a possible transitional care facility for unaccompanied migrant children.”
That’s according to an email sent from Guilford County Manager Mike Halford to the Guilford County commissioners this week.
The use of the former American Hebrew Academy location would mean hundreds of new jobs if the federal Health and Human Services Department decides to use it.
Halford stated that local officials won’t know if HHS has selected the Academy site until sometime this summer.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said on Thursday, May 6, that he believes the federal use of the site would be good all around – good for Greensboro and the county, good for the federal government and good for the children.
“It should provide about 800 new jobs,” Alston said.
Alston also said that this would show that Guilford County was “a friendly and welcoming” community.
“That puts us in a national spotlight in a positive way,” he said.
He also pointed out that the site would be very secure. Those being contained there would remain there and people would not be allowed in. Alston said one reason the feds like the site for this use is that it’s so self-contained.
When it was pointed out to him that Greensboro residents even react negatively to a Trader Joe’s being built near them, Alston said that it wouldn’t surprise him if there were objections from some residents – but he added that, since it would be such a big positive in so many ways for the city and county, he hoped any objections would be minimal.
A letter from Lee Stevens, the senior advisor to the director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs of the US Department of Health and Human Services, explained the federal government’s interest in the former academy location at 4334 Hobbs Road.
The academy closed in early 2019 due to financial challenges.
Stevens’ letter was addressed to “State Partners” and was sent to various officials who needed to be aware of the protentional move by HHS.
In that letter, sent to the county commissioners via Halford, Stevens stated that the top priority of HHS was ensuring that unaccompanied migrant children would be “safe, healthy, and unified with family members or other suitable sponsors as quickly and safely as possible.”
The HHS – which houses the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) – is responsible for the temporary care of unaccompanied children who are referred by US immigration officials.
“Though ORR has worked to build up its licensed bed capacity and currently funds over 14,160 licensed beds (the highest in the program’s history),” Stevens wrote, “additional capacity is critical in order to continue to provide a safe place for children to be released from border patrol stations. As a result, HHS has added approximately 14,246 Emergency Intake Site beds to aggressively address both the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing numbers of UC referrals from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
Stevens stated in the letter that HHS was attempting to aggressively move toward the long-term goal of acquiring enough state-licensed beds to reduce the need for emergency intake sites.
If chosen, the Greensboro site would be available to help ensure that migrant children aren’t kept in border patrol stations longer than 72 hours. Anyone watching the national news in recent months has known that that’s been a big problem for the federal government.
The federal onsite assessment of the American Hebrew Academy location was conducted on Tuesday, May 4, but county officials don’t yet know what that assessment found.
The letter from Stevens stated that HHS will continue to keep local and congressional officials apprised of the situation as things move forward.
This is exactly what we need. We can’t take care of our citizens and now we find room for whomever the socialist president wants to send us. John ,this where someone has to say no.
This is a great chance show a sign of love. If we have a place to house them, welcome them.
Build a bigger table, not a taller fence.
Remember the Golden Rule.
All you CINO’s ask yourself, WWJD
We don’t want a sign of love, we don’t want invaders, and don’t want to be replaced.
This city, county, state, and nation are poor enough.
The golden rule, some sort of table, and Jesus have zero to with this.
Your emotions run rampant and your brain is not doing it’s part.
Why not put the American Greensboro homeless there. Better yet the homeless veterans. Better than the illegal aliens here.
Totally agree! Let’s take care of us first. You say 800 jobs, we don’t need jobs we need workers for all the open positions around this city. Do we really need this? More covid?
Go ahead and post your address then so we can send a few to you. Practice what you preach.
Right! I am my brother’s keeper, but not by coercion.
Jobs are not being created, they are being destroyed. The taxpayer is extorted to pay for this.
Congratulations Nick you should go to work for kamela you seem to think like she does. Be sure and give the future gang members and drug runners a big hug and a sloppy kiss when you tuck them in at night and if it’s not any bother be sure and keep them in your neighborhood. Thanks
Nick I would expect that YOU would be getting your house in order to take a couple of these ” poor souls ” in .
When you can , let the rest of we citizens just how many you want camped out with you and your love ones.
These idiots running this country now , just expect you to be so kind.
And don’t forget to let your neighbors just how kind hearted you can be….I am sure they will appreciate your ” GOOD WORKS ” .
If you change my comment as sent then you belong to fb/Twitter and I don’t want anything to do with you. I remember when you,John had balls and integrity.
Words fail me.
No comments on here yet, but I foresee lots of xenophobia. No crystal ball necessary.
Called it! Keep them coming!
You should adopt some of these creatures.
Creatures? These are human beings you’re talking about. Try again, but keep on keeping me right with your fear and hatred of people from different lands than your own.
How many have you invited to live in your abode Name star? Shall we start with one? How many will be too many? How many of these scared, “dumped” kids will be sheltered in wonderful Delaware? How about The Hamptons? Hawaii? I have heard Connecticut and Massachusetts are lovely this time of year. VERMONT! Oh yes, Vermont. When will these afore mentioned places volunteer to throw open their doors? Perhaps they can volunteer to take the older, (lying about their age) boys with gang tattoos. Does your crystal ball give any clues as to how we deal with those guys Star? Should we all just love the meanness out of them?
America has very generous immigration laws, but we can only handle so many (especially tender, bone fide CHILDREN) at one time. A little moderation and common sense is needed. Although liberals seem to obsess over it, race or color is absolutely not the issue. Probably not even with liberals. There is of course a culture problem which is an issue with these children needing to learn the language and get educated etc. so they can mainstream in American schools. I am pretty confident most do not know indoor plumbing. An excellent job for volunteers like you Star, teach them hygiene and bathroom habits American style. However, can we agree too many kids is too many kids. Aren’t you weary of seeing kids in plastic boxes wrapped up like baked potatoes on floors? No heads or feet to be seen? Cannot put that on Trump. He had cages remember? I don’t remember the baked potato thing during Trump either.
Star, in spite of having a flawed crystal ball, you are probably a very good person, just stop blowing smoke at common sense and tossing around the X word. Regardless, Please keep us in the loop of how you are generously doing as a volunteer with these children. I am sure everyone who has bothered reading this long reply is interested as well. How we too can step up like you and do the same. I sincerely look forward to joining you assisting with these (poor, abandoned, seemingly unwanted by everyone) children.
Send a Letter to the Editor on where and how we can join you and volunteer. We all will be watching for it.
It’s not xenophobia. Rather, it is a question of trying to be the world’s caretaker when we have our own unsheltered and unfed population that could use some help. We are ignoring our own problems while we try to solve some other country’s issue. When I can drive through town and not see a single unsheltered person begging for help on a corner, then we can start helping other countries. If we can house 800 homeless kids from some other country, why can we not house that same number of Greensboro’s own Americans who need the same help?
Name Star …..easy peasy there buddy row.
Xenophobia doesn’t care who you are , it just creeps in when your not expecting it.
But some how I suspect you know that already.
Sounds like a good and humane request however
1, What does self contained mean?
2, 800 new jobs over what period of time?
3,will there be a public meeting on the pros & cons?
4 what is the age of these migrant children ?
Public meeting…. if you expect the public who live near a federal facility to have a voice and a choice I assume you support DCs statehood? Only meeting necessary is to determine the price.
What a joke! These so called UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT CHILDREN are teenagers, not children. They’ve left their countries for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is crime and gang activity.
800 jobs? Just how many illegal immigrants are we talking about?
Delusional local officials are covering up the real truth. These ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS will find their way out of the facility and will blend in to the existing framework of crime and cheap labor, AND sex trafficking.
If our President had any spine at all he would have continued and improved upon the program’s in effect when he took office.
Any chance we’ll see Kamala now that we’re moving the border closer to Washington?
Is there anyone who relishes having hordes of uneducated, unskilled people from a foreign culture invade their society?
Join the military if you are worried about an invasion. Oh wait, they don’t let people like you in any more.
Adopt some of them if you are so in favor of this policy.
Shoot some of them if you are not. Because that makes sense.
Wasn’t Harris in GSO ??? Didn’t she go to Skip’s shrine the Museum ??? Sounds like Skip literally made a deal with the Devil !!!!☹
Skip’s shrine Museum? Are you embarrassed about one of the greatest civil rights movements that started here in Greensboro?
Breaks my heart to see the conservatives go down the road of isolationism (i.e. Nationalism). It isn’t the Christian thing to do, it isn’t the right thing to do economically, and it shows racial bias to those less born outside of the US under less than ideal circumstances.
Go ahead an ask me to take some into my home. As head of a Christian home, I would be more than happy. Where do I sign up!
Um, it’s called adoption or foster parenting. There are literally thousands of American children who need a home. Go ahead and keep oreaching without doing,
So we get around keeping children in Border Patrol facilities and move them to a children’s jail in Greensboro. Makes a whole lot of sense considering the current administration.
Send them all to DC!!!!!
I agree send them to live around the president and vice pres. homes and senate & congress. They can share their homes. Why send them to someone else if they want them so bad. Greensboro can’t take care of if their own young or old.
First of all, why are these illegals being handled as refugees? That is not what they are. Refugees stay in their countries until we agree to take them. These people crossed our border illegally. I believe that this is part of the left’s attempt to flip NC blue and settle lots more illegals here. Will they be tested before coming here? The “staff” members they will hire – will they be illegals, too? This infuriates me. They will be getting in-person instruction while citizen kids only get online learning. They will get free healthcare, free social services, etc., etc. This is citizen’s tax money funding this invasion of our country. This is wrong. Democrats are ruining the country.
So true….turn Them Carolina Blue .
“Self contained “means it is a really nice detention facility. The Academy has a ten foot security fence and is more fortified than most minimum security prisons. A gilded cage is still a cage.
So, they should be sent back and you won’t have to worry about a cage.
Will there be unicorns?
The local Democratic establishment seems not just happy but ecstatic about this.
Good idea they came across unaccompanied they can go stay in dc unaccompanied then we give dc to Mexico with all the political hacks that work there we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone
This will be devastating to property owners surrounding the Academy. Who is going to want to live near a facility housing over 800 illegal immigrants and who’s to say that eventually it will house adults. This is a big mistake and the people in Greensboro will suffer the consequences.
As a homeowner within walking distance to the Academy, this will in NO WAY be devastating. Do you know how many people live within walking distance to prisons? Ain’t no thang. Stop being a scared janey.
Still you haven’t stepped up and put your house up for these ” kids ” to invade
NO NAME. Bet you haven’t sent in your request for half a dozen yet.
Go ahead and send out a neighborhood flyer inviting them over to meet and greet …huh.
$56 million coming our way should be shared across the board without priorities to any groups.
They are talking about 800 “children” put into a facility that is built for 400 residents. And yes, Skip made a deal with the devil. Our government will be paying China (who owns the AHA now) rent for this soon to be debacle. How long will they be here? And yes, thanks for putting Guilford College property values in the crapper.
Do not bring migrants here until We take care of our own. Skip, the good press you seem so concerned with should start with taking care of our needy population first
I, for one, welcome our new unaccompanied minor overlords.
Any council member or commissioner that votes for this crap should have to spend 90 days in isolation there with all of the ILLEGAL ALIENS that will be housed there. This is an even dumber idea than Cure The Violence.
I thought the AHA was reopening as a school, that they had been re-funded. I’m confused by this facility being available for use as a detention center.
I am also concerned that caring for 800 12-15 y/o detainees requires an equal number of adults. I don’t believe this will generate that many jobs for people in this area as the majority will be federal government jobs that most likely are already filled. Most jobs available will be janitorial or food service-related and contracted out which will go to the MWBE-whatever businesses.