North Carolina officials are working with the Biden administration to allow residents affected by Hurricane Helene to move into a federally contracted school campus that has sat empty after being paid for to house unaccompanied immigrant children who cross the southern border.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it plans to sign an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services to allow the emergency agency to use the $18 million former American Hebrew Academy boarding school in Greensboro to put up western North Carolina families who lost their homes in the late September natural disaster.
Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), who represents Greensboro, confirmed in a statement from her office on Wednesday that FEMA was "finalizing" the agreement with HHS to "transfer control" of the facility.
My statement on the latest updates regarding the Greensboro Influx Care facility ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/M61rbRuy8g
— Congresswoman Kathy Manning (@RepKManning)
October 9, 2024 Former Rep. Mark Walker, a Republican who represented Greensboro, applauded the move following his calls last week for Manning and the federal government to use the unoccupied campus, which can accommodate roughly 1,000 people.
"I am glad that DHHS appears to be working with FEMA. We need to move now to help support these displaced children and families from the storm," Walker, now the Republican National Committee's faith outreach adviser, wrote in a message to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. "North Carolina takes care of our own, we just need the gates opened."
Hurricane Helene was the most deadly mainland hurricane to hit the United States since Katrina in 2005. It made landfall on Sept. 26 in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane and then moved north through Georgia and western North Carolina.
The area surrounding Asheville was inundated with flood waters from the surrounding mountains and hit by winds of up to 100 miles per hour. Helene’s death toll is at least 230 people.
Walker had called for FEMA to inquire about the space in Greensboro last week.
"Hey @FEMA, 800 beds in Greensboro are available. The U.S. Govt. has a $50 million lease and it’s currently unoccupied," Walker wrote in a post to X on Oct. 3. "While the center is waiting to house apprehended illegals, maybe you could take care of our own western North Carolinians first."
Progress! @fema has taken over the Greensboro Influx Center and plans to utilize for displaced victims in Western North Carolina. Maybe we start with damaged children’s homes in WNC. Thank you to @RepKManning for connecting with me responding to my request and appreciate her… https://t.co/r6w2xCpZ3a
— Mark Walker (@RepMarkWalker)
October 9, 2024 FEMA said in a statement on Oct. 3 that it would "soon sign an agreement" with HHS to transfer the facility to FEMA temporarily but would not comment Wednesday about whether the contract had been signed or when displaced North Carolina residents would be able to apply and move in.
The Washington Examiner reported in May 2021 of the Biden administration’s plans to use the school campus to house 1,100 children between the ages of 13 and 17. No children have been moved into the facilities since then, but the HHS has kept up a five-year contract in case the number of children coming across the southern border suddenly rises, as it did in 2021.
The Biden administration paid a for-profit company $177 million to care for and detain the children while sponsors within the country could be found with whom to place the children permanently.
The 100-acre Hebrew school campus opened in 2001 to educate Jewish high school students. It ceased operations in 2019. Its campus includes 16 dormitory buildings, 35 residential staff apartments, and an $18 million athletic center that features rock climbing walls, basketball courts, and an eight-lane swimming pool.
Children who come across the border illegally after being smuggled by cartels are taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol, which can only hold them in custody for up to three days in an effort to ensure they are turned over to more suitable caretakers. HHS’s Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Refugee Resettlement arm is responsible for caring for children after Border Patrol.
Manning said she was working with others to help North Carolina.
"I am fully committed to mobilizing resources swiftly and ensuring they reach all those impacted by this unprecedented storm," Manning said.
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Walker said Greensboro and Guilford County would be ready to assist the North Carolinians who move in and may need help from the community.
"There are dozens of churches and nonprofits on standby ready to serve these families on everything from student tutoring to healthcare," Walker said.
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