The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

L.A. County hopes to identify relatives of detained migrant children

by •

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to take steps to find local relatives of unaccompanied minors held in federal immigration shelters and to provide medical and mental health support.

On a motion from Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board voted to have county counsel request permission from federal authorities to visit facilities housing unaccompanied, undocumented minors.

The Long Beach City Council, at the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is expected to approve using that city’s convention center to shelter migrant children arriving from Mexico.

“With Long Beach moving forward, time is of the essence for us to provide all the support we can,” Barger said.

Barger reminded her colleagues that in April 2018, the Department of Children and Family Services identified 72 UUM children from Central America, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The aim of her motion is to ensure that the appropriate resources remain in place.

DCFS will also seek foster families for unaccompanied minors without local family.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said she wanted to be sure that “every effort be made to identify any family they have.”

In addition to identifying family members who are willing to take the children in, the board hopes to offer trauma-based medical and mental health care to children remaining in emergency shelter.

–

4 comments for "L.A. County hopes to identify relatives of detained migrant children"

  1. Do you demacrates that support no boarders have no shame? Parents from south America are sending their babies to our country where they are being abandoned and left at the boarder. Children are being raped and traumatized, many have diseases and covid. I noticed that no dems have gone to check out this crisis or help these childern. You people are evil. Americans are watching.

  2. It is very sad that ”children” are arriving at our Border alone & scared, some are abandoned in the desert in AZ & TX. Several children have ”DIED” on their trek to America, thanks to the OPEN BORDER POLICY of Biden…However, it’s understandable that those children are tramatized & have NO PARENT with them, but whose fault is that? Is it America’s job to raise children whose parents abandoned them & put them with Human Smuggler’s & ”Coyotes” to come to America? How were these children supposed to be able to SURVIVE except for the generosity of American TAXPAYERS? Now, our American Children are NOT IN SCHOOL, but the Unaccompanied Minors from various countries are being schooled IN-PERSON by volunteer teachers. We should be more concerned about OUR CHILDREN ”FIRST”!! Many of these ”illegals” have no papers, no birth certificates, diseases & COVID 19, are gang members, etc., yet they’re here now!! How much is it going to cost TAXPAYERS who are still struggling to get back on our feet because of the Pandemic? Now, we’re supporting children from another country while our children are ignored by the Teacher’s & Politicians?? ”AMERICA FIRST” NOT AMERICA LAST!!!!