Panetta: Camp Roberts will not be used to house unaccompanied migrant children

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has decided not to use Camp Roberts to house unaccompanied migrant children, according to Rep. Jimmy Panetta's office.

Talks about using Camp Roberts, which is located on the border of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, were put on "indefinite hold" earlier this month.

Talks about housing migrant children at Camp Roberts on "indefinite hold"

According to Panetta, the HHS has officially told the Department of Defense that it is no longer considering the site.

“I am pleased to update our community that Camp Roberts is no longer under consideration by HHS to be used as a temporary facility to house unaccompanied children. This is a logical determination as the number of children in HHS facilities has decreased precipitously,” said Congressman Panetta. “I commend the Biden-Harris Administration for the humane, professional, and skilled manner in which they have worked to decrease the number of children under federal care. There is still much work to be done to alleviate the ongoing situation at our border and reform our immigration system. I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to find common-sense solutions that provide humane, secure, and sustainable solutions for our immigration system.”

Camp Roberts was one of several facilities under consideration. If the Department of Health and Human Services did decide to use it, Panetta's office said the post would house the children until they could be placed with a family or sponsor, but before a court determination about their legal status.

Unaccompanied migrant children in talks to be placed at Camp Roberts facility