MIAMI The Homestead detention center for unaccompanied immigrant children is expected to begin accepting kids again as early as October or November, federal government sources say, even though it officially shut down less than two weeks ago.
Sources close to the operation told The Miami Herald the federal government is anticipating an influx of children at the border some time in October.
Homestead is not closed. There will be kids back at the center, its just a matter of when, one federal official who oversees the operation said, noting that administrators are contemplating whether it will ultimately wait until after hurricane season ends in late November if the expected migration influx happens.
On Aug. 3, the remaining few hundred children at the detention center were abruptly relocated. The overall evacuation happened over a period of four weeks after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it would no longer be sending children to Homestead. A tropical wave in the Atlantic Ocean was what ultimately triggered the final move of the children, following the facilitys hurricane plan.
The centers child population was at 3,000 at its peak but had been rapidly declining as Floridas hurricane season intensified. On its final day, it housed about 300 children.
HHS would not comment on when the shelter would be expecting children again. In early August, the agency did say it plans to retain but reduce bed capacity at the Homestead facility from 2,700 beds to 1,200 beds for future access in the event of increased referrals or an emergency situation.
At this time, retaining bed capacity at the Homestead influx facility is necessary to provide care and services to (unaccompanied minors) as mandated. We anticipate an uptick in the number of referrals made to HHS this fall, based on historical trends, HHS said it its statement.
When the closing of the center was announced, federal officials told the Herald it would keep around 130 employees on site to maintain the property even as the shelter remains closed. However, this week the Herald learned that those plans have changed and that more than 2,500 employees will keep their jobs, with another 1,700 losing their positions.
Rick Beasley, who heads CareerSource, an agency charged with helping people find employment, said it will be spearheading the effort, along with Caliburn, the company contracted to run the shelter, to help those who are losing their jobs.
It is my understanding that they will be bringing the youths back, Beasley said. Its not closed. Its just being scaled down.
Beasley noted that job fairs will be held in the coming days or weeks. Meanwhile thousands of employees are still reporting to work, even though there are no kids at the shelter. Youth care workers and staff say they are playing board games, sports and exercising to kill time.
Caliburn would not say why employees are still arriving to work and what their daily duties are.
Homestead was the largest for-profit, influx detention center for unaccompanied minor children in the country, with 3,200 beds at its peak. Because its deemed an influx center, it doesnt require a state license.
Sources inside HHS told the Herald that Homestead hasnt applied for a state license, a process that takes about six months to complete, because that would mean capping the population off at 500 children the threshold for most permanent shelters and that the agency needs the flexibility in case there is an emergency.
In the past year, the government has faced scathing criticism nationwide from local, state and federal lawmakers, as well as protesters and advocates, against child detention, specifically at unlicensed shelters, where the price tag is much bigger, and the length of stay tends to be much longer because of larger populations.
