{"id":439,"date":"2021-07-07T07:31:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T14:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/voices\/?p=637"},"modified":"2021-07-08T11:18:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T18:18:52","slug":"migrant-center-media-access-long-beach-convention-center-unacompanied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/voices\/news\/commentary\/migrant-center-media-access-long-beach-convention-center-unacompanied","title":{"rendered":"Column: Why you should care that media have been kept out of the migrant center in Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lee esta columna en espa\u00f1ol<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The pregnant 17-year-old from El Salvador arrived in the United States on April 25. At the border, she was separated from her male cousin and then brought directly to the Long Beach Convention Center, one of several temporary centers being used to house unaccompanied children.<\/p>\n

There, she languished for at least 30 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to keep busy to keep the time pass [sic] but I really want to leave; it\u2019s been a long time,\u201d she says in court papers filed late last month by immigrant-rights attorneys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She had been sleeping in a pod with 27 other girls. She had met with a case manager a few times and had been allowed to call home. She heard that one of the staff members at the local center is angry.<\/p>\n

The girl\u2019s account of her time in the city is tucked away as Exhibit U in a lengthy court filing by the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law, which has been monitoring the children at migrant holding centers across the country.<\/p>\n

Her portion of the exhibit is just two pages long, but it is so far the only first-hand account of what life is like inside the Convention Center, beyond public relations events staged or endorsed by the city and various groups, with permission from the federal agency running the facility.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed balls. Local theater groups have performed. The actor and restaurateur Danny Trejo recently tweeted<\/a> about his visit and formal declaration of thanks from the mayor.<\/p>\n

Yet for eight weeks, the media have largely been denied access to the center, despite numerous requests at all levels. We\u2019ve offered agreements to adhere to all safety protocols, to share our information with other media, and we have given assurances that identities of children will be protected.<\/p>\n

Though the city does have power to enter the facility per the contract signed with the government, Mayor Robert Garcia would only say in a recent interview that \u201che\u2019d love to see as many folks get access as possible,\u201d but that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services calls the shots.<\/p>\n

HHS has denied our repeated requests for weeks, the latest reason being COVID-19 protocols.<\/p>\n

Our best hope was Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who spoke at length on the record about the center, access and what he\u2019s seen in his three visits there.<\/p>\n

He concedes: \u201dThis is not the model I would have chosen\u201d in terms of access, adding that HHS had likely lost an opportunity to enlist a community \u201cthat has an outpouring of love for these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowenthal\u2019s office and staff subsequently made requests for access on behalf of the Post at two levels within HHS. They were also denied.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, we\u2019ve heard glowing accounts of life inside the center from local, state and federal politicians and other community members (\u201cIt\u2019s run well,\u201d Lowenthal said. \u201cVery child-oriented\u201d). We get twice-weekly raw numbers from the city\u2014with no context\u2014about the number of kids who\u2019ve been reunited with family in the United States, with tweets from the mayor touting this scant information.<\/p>\n

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920 kids have been reunited with family from the Long Beach shelter. We are set to close in a month and are so grateful for this opportunity to help. @SecBecerra<\/a> and immigration and civil rights attorneys have called the Long Beach site a national model. https:\/\/t.co\/5c3JGWhK58<\/a><\/p>\n

— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) June 30, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n