Connecticut Can Help Alleviate a Humanitarian Emergency, Caucus Chairman Says

There is a humanitarian emergency occurring that Connecticut can help alleviate. 

That’s the message the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus is sending the state after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy denied the federal government’s request to temporarily house children who illegally entered the United States from Central America.

These children are detained under the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. The need for housing is urgent, the U.S. General Services Administration told The CT Mirror.

The location the federal government set its sights on was Southbury Training School but the state government did not find the location ideal due to its condition, concerns about the people with developmental disabilities presently housed there and the procedural process for a different use at the school.

Rep. Juan Candelaria, D-95, and chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said he hopes Malloy can find a different location in Connecticut.

“This is not the time to point fingers or wait for Congress to decide whether they will approve or even consider the president’s emergency supplemental request or a comprehensive immigration reform,” he stated in the letter to Malloy. “Governor, we ask that you work with our state agencies in finding an alternative to the Southbury Training School option and accept the federal request to house a group of these vulnerable children.”

There are those who support Malloy’s decision, citing a need for secure borders.

“I agree with Governor Dan Malloy that it is wrong to place a burden on local budgets, emergency services, and schools because the president and Congress refuse to enforce our laws and politicize important issues like national security and securing our borders,” said Republican candidate for Congressional 5th District, Mark Greenberg, on his website.

Fifth District Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Esty was quoted in the New Haven Register as saying she agreed with the governor’s decision. She cited the conditions of the Southbury Training School and concerns for the well-being of its residents, as well as safety of the immigrant children.

She supports finding different locations for the immigrant children within the U.S. and spoke in favor of the need for reform.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal visited the Texas-Mexico border on Friday, July 19, and is hoping to have a discussion with Malloy on how Connecticut can participate in immigration reform, the New Haven Register reports.

The Surge

“Beginning in October 2011, the U.S. Government recorded a dramatic rise — commonly referred to in the United States as ‘the surge’ — in the number of unaccompanied and separated children arriving to the United States from these same three countries — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,” according to the U.N. Refugee Agency. “The total number of apprehensions of unaccompanied and separated children from these countries by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) jumped from 4,059 in FY 2011 to 10,443 in FY 2012 and then more than doubled again, to 21,537, in FY 2013.”

This year, it is estimated that approximately 77,200 children will get apprehended at the U.S. border, Vox reported, adding that an estimated 59,000 of those children come from Central America.

Candelaria said these children should not be treated like criminals when they do not carry threats to public health or safety.

“While the rhetoric of blame for the current situation of these innocent children rises, we ask you to reconsider your refusal to provide assistance to the federal government in alleviating this humanitarian emergency,” he wrote to Malloy.

Earlier this week, we asked what you thought about Malloy’s decision to say “no” to the federal government’s request to temporarily house immigrant children at Southbury Training School.

Do you think Malloy should help find another location in the state or do you stand by his decision? What are your thoughts?