The chairman of the Prince William County, Virginia (Manassas , Board of Supervisors is hoping to put enough pressure on the county's executive to find out how many undocumented immigrant children are living in the county and what kind of financial impact they could have.
Board Supervisor Chairman Corey Stewart said some undocumented children who showed up at the U.S. border have been transferred to Prince William County, and are possibly being housed at "Youth for Tomorrow," a home for troubled teens in Bristow, as well as other locations.
Federal officials are making arrangements to house the children with private and religious organizations, but they are not saying where.
Prince William County officials say they only found out about the children arriving there because the local shelter taking them in volunteered the information.
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The facility told us they entered into a federal contract and that they were going to be housing these children," Stewart said. "They wouldn't say much more than that."
"Health and Human Services did not inform the county. We're somewhat upset about that," said Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart. "I'm concerned these children may be housed here permanently, and of course, there is going to be a drain on our educational system and other county services."
Stewart says it’s all setting a bad precedent.
"If these children are allowed to stay...and you have to have sympathy for them...it sends the unfortunate message to the rest of impoverished Latin America that all you got to do is make it to the U.S. and we will house you here permanently," Stewart said. “This relatively small number of children that have relocated to Prince William County is just the tip of the iceberg."
News4 tried contacting the "Youth for Tomorrow" facility, but they did not respond to our calls.
Health and Human Services tell us they do not identify shelters for unaccompanied immigrant minors for security reasons.
Officials Hope to Locate Undocumented Immigrant Children Living in Prince William Co. | NBC4 Washington
Prince Wiliam County officials: We weren't informed child immigrants were coming | WJLA.com