[CPEO-MEF] REUSE: "Potential contamination at Homestead detention center means it can’t be safe to house children"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Potential contamination at Homestead detention center means it can’t be safe to house children

BY JONATHAN FRIED AND LISA EVANS
Miami Herald (FL)
OCTOBER 03, 2019 

On Aug. 14, the Miami Herald reported that the Homestead detention center for immigrant children would be reopened in October. There are still employees there, although the last children were removed in early August.

There are several reasons to oppose reopening the center. Children were held there in jail-like, regimented conditions. At one point, more than 2,000 youth ages 13-17 were detained, after entering the United States seeking refuge from violence and insecurity in their home countries. In February, it was reported that children were staying in the center an average of 67 days. It was the only detention facility for “unaccompanied minors,” who either entered the United States without a parent or were separated from their parents, run by a for-profit corporation.

Now there’s another reason to oppose reopening the center: The site may not be safe for kids or for employees.

WeCount!, a community organization in Homestead that promotes the rights, interests and well-being of the immigrant community, recently released a report on potential toxic contamination and chronic noise exposure at the Homestead center.


…

For the entire column, see
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article235772247.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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