DAI Calls Shelter Conditions for Migrant Teens a 'Humanitarian Crisis'
[Excerpts]
Some of the dozen people familiar with the conditions who spoke to The Dallas Morning News about the center say the management of the boys’ asylum cases seems chaotic, with boys unclear about processes such as their pending family reunions, deportation cases, or why they are being held.
“This is a humanitarian crisis in the convention center,”
said Josephine Lopez-Paul, Dallas Area Interfaith’s lead organizer, who did volunteer work at the convention center. Like others interviewed, Lopez-Paul was taken aback by the number of children, mostly from Guatemala and Honduras, kept in one massive gray hall of the convention center, their metal cots in neat rows.
The Dallas center was initially billed as a “decompression center” for children, and after it opened on March 17, it quickly filled to capacity, about 2,300 boys ages 13 to 17.
But many who have worked or volunteered there have described the pop-up detention center as inadequate and depressing for the children, though they acknowledge it’s better than conditions at the Border Patrol sites where they are initially processed after crossing the border seeking asylum in the U.S.
[Photo Credit: Dallas Visitor's Bureau]
Worries Rise About the Welfare of Migrant Teens in Dallas Emergency Shelter, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
Migrant Teens Held in Dallas Convention Center Feel Imprisoned, Dallas Observer [pdf]
Advocates Worried for Migrant Teens at Improvised Shelter, Arkansas Democrat Gazette [pdf]
DAI to Welcome the (Unaccompanied Migrant Teen) Stranger to Dallas
[Excerpt]
Dallas Area Interfaith, a non-partisan group, made up of multiple religious congregations in the metroplex, is on standby to provide translation services per Lead Organizer Josephine Lopez Paul.
The organization is searching congregations, mostly Catholic congregations, for bilingual volunteers in the metroplex who can talk to the children and get them moving towards the next immigration steps.
"We sprung into action," Lopez Paul said. "Right now, we have 88 volunteers secured who have to undergo background checks and are hoping to get 200."
One of the volunteers, Angelica Montanez, spoke with WFAA.
"It's a guiding process," Montanez said, who is an immigrant herself from Mexico. "It's a friendly face that can speak your language and help you out."
[Do you want to volunteer? Click here.]
'They're Scared and Alone': Immigration Advocates Describe What Teen Migrants Experience in Detention Centers Such as Dallas, ABC News [video] [pdf]
Speedy Placement With Family Critical for Teenage Migrants, NBC News [video] [pdf]
U.S. to House Up to 3,000 Immigrant Teens at Dallas Convention Center, Dallas Morning News [pdf]
Gov. Greg Abbott Says There is a "Humanitarian Crisis" at Texas-Mexico Border, Texas Tribune [pdf]
Immigrant Teens Arrive At Temporary Shelter In Dallas, KERA News [pdf]
Dallas Catholics Pitch in to Help Migrant Teens, Catholic Philly [pdf]
Marin Organizing Committee Credited with Creating REST and for Building Power to Expand It
42 churches, synagogues and nonprofits will participate in the Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (REST) this year, providing temporary shelter as well as meals shared between providers and homeless participants. The Marin Independent Journal credits the Marin Organizing Committee (MOC) for establishing the program nine years ago and for continuing to building power to expand its reach.
Says leader Pat Langley, a parishioner at St. Anselm Church in Ross, "We haven't run out of gas!" Langley explained that just this year, MOC signed up 8,500 Marin residents who support the creation of a new year-round shelter for the homeless. Leaders furthermore secured, through non-partisan accountability assemblies, pledges of support from Dennis Rodoni, who was elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 8, and supervisors Kate Sears and Katie Rice, who secured re-election in June.
Read moreMOC Wins Candidate Commitments for Added Emergency Shelter
Building on a program they created 7 years ago to provide emergency shelter for Marin residents during winter months, 250 MOC leaders succeeded in persuading both leading candidates for Marin County District 1 Supervisor to commit to finding money to expand the program to year round. Candidates Susan Adams and Damon Connolly both said yes to the crowd gathered at Congregation Rodef Sholom.
The Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (REST) program operates during five winter months each year, housing and feeding 40 men at rotating congregations -- as well as 20 women housed at the County Wellness Center and served by congregations.
Read more