The federal government is no longer considering locating a shelter for immigrant children in Syracuse’s North Side.

Federal officials will not use the former campus of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities at 1007 Court St. as a shelter. The Syracuse location was just one of dozens of sites across the nation that the United States Department of Health and Human Services was assessing, according to an Aug. 18 Post Standard article. The announcement comes after Congress left for summer recess without passing a $1.8 billion temporary housing bill.

Last month, a team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and General Services Administration was sent to assess the property, according to a July 8 Post-Standard article.

On July 9, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner received an email from a federal official alerting her of the department’s intentions and their impending assessment, according to a July 28 Washington Post article. Just a few days later, in a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, Miner said Syracuse was ready to expedite the assessment process and receive the children.

The Sisters of St. Francis vacated the premises roughly eight months ago, according to First District Common Councilor Jake Barrett. Barrett said that he had made overtures to the managers of the buildings to facilitate the site’s transition from religious campus to private property.

Approximately 80 people attended a town meeting Barrett organized for July 23, and while the shelter wasn’t the original focus, the discussion immediately turned to it.

“I had called a meeting in the district to have a real estate discussion,” Barrett said. “But that was before the federal government made their announcement.”

Another meeting was called on July 24 by Second District Common Councilor Chad Ryan, who asked Mayor Miner to attend. A crowd of roughly 300 people showed up at the Pastime Athletic Club, double the number of what is allowed by the building’s fire code. Miner was forced to call an impromptu second meeting.

“I received numerous calls and emails from constituents in the neighborhood looking for more information on the subject,” Ryan said in an email. “The mayor was the only person with intimate knowledge of what was going on and why.”

Unaccompanied children have been staying in temporary camps all along the border, Barrett said. The states that were housing them were requesting more aid while awaiting government action. Some of the large temporary camps have been shut down, forcing the children to be moved elsewhere.

If officials had approved the Syracuse site, the shelter would have been passed over and run by a non-profit organization. The shelter would have been federally funded, meaning there would be no local tax increase, Barrett said.

“If there were to be one, it would be very self-contained with security guards on the perimeter,” he said. “There would be very little impact on the surrounding neighborhood.”

At these types of shelters, children would usually only stay for 30–35 days, said Aly Wane, a volunteer and organizer for the Syracuse Peace Council.

“This whole issue is just very much a question of basic humanity,” Wane said. “The shelters at the borders have conditions where I wouldn’t even want to put an animal there.”

Wane said he could testify that the town meetings were heated and that people were angry and, in some cases, just bitter.

“I do understand and agree with people who say there should be more focus and help with the American economy and health care system,” Wane said. “There was a woman at one of the meetings who talked about how she could not afford her cancer treatments. I understand those concerns; the economy has been hard on everyone, but we should not turn our bitterness on children who have nothing to do with that.”

Potential gang violence was a concern at the town meetings as well, but Wane said that was due to misinformation.

“These children are refugees, they are fleeing from gang violence as opposed to joining it,” he said.

When notified of the federal government’s decision, Wane said he was heartbroken.

“This is just really sad, but unfortunately, I’m not surprised,” he said. “The battle over this shelter has been hypothetical, and I just think we’ve lost a really great opportunity to provide some compassion.”

Wane said the issue hasn’t been about the kids, but instead, immigration reform. He said the president and Congress have produced good legislation in the past, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, which allowed immigrants to stay in the country for two years with a work permit. However, Wane says Obama has not been strong on this issue.

Said Wane: “He is very, very timid about standing for these kids.”

Published on August 20, 2014 at 1:00 am