Civil Right Advocates Rebuke Administration's Plans To Shutdown Education, Recreation In Shelters For Migrant Children

While Health and Human Services seeks additional funding for housing minors, it says it will scale back on services for more than 13,000 children based in 100 shelters across the country. Advocates stress that any move by the government to eliminate education and recreation is a violation of the Flores settlement,

Reuters: Trump Administration Suspends U.S. Educational Programs For Migrant Children

The Trump administration is suspending educational, legal and recreational programs for migrant children in its custody, saying an influx of children crossing the border without a parent or legal guardian was putting a "tremendous strain" on the resources of the agency tasked with housing them. The agency that houses migrant children - the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) - asked Congress for an additional $2.88 billion to increase shelter capacity, HHS spokeswoman Evelyn Stauffer said on Wednesday. ORR is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. (6/5)

The New York Times: Migrant Children May Lose School, Sports And Legal Aid As Shelters Swell

The government’s plans were swiftly rebuked by civil rights lawyers representing unaccompanied children, who have been crossing the border in ever-larger numbers this year to flee poverty and violence in their home countries, mainly in Central America. And the chief of at least one large shelter operator said he would continue to offer education and sports at his network’s facilities. Some 13,200 migrant children, including adolescents who crossed the border alone and young children who were separated from their parents, are currently housed in more than 100 shelters across the country. (Jordan, 6/5)

The Hill: Trump Admin Ending Legal Aid, English Classes For Migrant Children In US Shelters

"Basic educational, recreational, and legal services for unaccompanied children are imperative for their physical and mental well-being. ORR’s cancelling of these services will inflict further harm on children, many of whom continue to languish for months without being placed safely and expeditiously into a sponsor’s care," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair of the House Appropriations HHS subcommittee. "That is not only unacceptable, it could be in violation of the law." (Weixel, 6/5)

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