HHS to shutter Homestead detention center, a victory for immigration activists
WASHINGTON -- The private prison company running the Homestead detention center that housed thousands of migrant children since 2018 and became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration policies will not have its contract renewed, according to an email sent to Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Miami, by the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday.
Caliburn, the contractor that operates the facility on land owned by the Department of Labor, will not have its federal contract renewed when it expires on Nov. 30 — though it will be placed into “warm status,” which means HHS will retain access to Homestead and can reopen the facility. The remaining staff members at Homestead will be released in the next five to seven days, and the facility’s bed capacity will be reduced to zero, according to the email.
“In our ongoing efforts to ensure fiscal prudence, following a sustained decrease in referrals, HHS operations at the Homestead Temporary Influx facility will be transitioned into warm status effective immediately,” the HHS office of the assistant secretary for legislation said in the email to Mucarsel-Powell, whose congressional district includes the Homestead facility.
HHS workers will still have access to the site, which has not accepted new immigrant children since July 3. The detention center became the focus of frequent protests from activists and lawmakers in the spring. The last unaccompanied children were relocated from it in August, and the center remained open but dormant.
Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article236732048.html
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