Rep. Chu Reacts to Visiting Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Minors

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27) visited the Naval Base Ventura County in Oxnard, California over the weekend, a temporary shelter where unaccompanied children are being transferred and housed. President Obama recently announced a multi-agency directive to respond to the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border without a parent or legal guardian. The Naval Base is expected to house up to 600 children, ranging from ages 13 to 17.

“Seeing the children today hit home for me that this is a humanitarian crisis that requires a humanitarian solution,” said Rep. Chu. “These children made the life or death decision to leave their home and cross the border alone — to flee the extreme violence and crime that has taken a foothold in Central America. Their safety and addressing the underlying international factors causing this crisis is of upmost concern. I look forward to exploring humanitarian solutions during the House Judiciary hearing on this issue next week.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken steps to address this issue with the goal to safely and quickly transport the unaccompanied children to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as the law requires. On June 1, at the direction of President Obama, a Unified Coordination Group, with the Federal Management Agency (FEMA) at its head, was established to leverage resources to provide humanitarian relief to the ongoing situation.

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