Federal immigration officials say over 69,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the southwestern border from October through July.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Washington, D.C., officials say they don’t support the federal government’s plan to house unaccompanied migrant children there.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said Tuesday that D.C. won’t be complicit in the “inhumane practice of detaining migrant children in warehouses.”
Federal contractor Dynamic Service Solution has applied to open a temporary District shelter for children, and its job listings ask for people to work with “unaccompanied alien” children there.
Federal immigration officials say over 69,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the southwestern border from October through July. President Donald Trump’s administration has been criticized for separating migrant families. It recently proposed a permanent Virginia shelter for migrant children.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services oversees migrant children placement and didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.