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(Los Angeles, CA) – Disability Rights California (DRC) and Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition (LBIRC) submitted a letter of recommendations and recent findings to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services regarding the Long Beach Convention Center Emergency Intake Site.

On July 2, 2021 DRC and LBIRC monitored the Long Beach Convention Center Emergency Intake site (now closed).  The facility held unaccompanied immigrant children ages 5-17. At the time of DRC’s monitoring visit there were 582 children in the facility. 61 of the children had tested positive for COVID and were in an isolation living area.

Children reported issues they were having related to their medical and mental health care, including feeling that the services at the facility were not helping to alleviate their mental health concerns. The monitoring team also observed that children held in isolation for Covid-19 were not allowed outside for recreation for ten days while waiting for clearance to return to the general population.

“We found the facility lacked a specific system to identify and track children with disabilities, potentially leaving many children without necessary accommodations,” says Richard Diaz, Staff Attorney with DRC.

DRC and LBIRC support the closing of LBCC EIS and recommend the closing of other similar sites. Insofar as Emergency Intake Sites remain open, more robust oversight and increased case management to accelerate the release of children into the most appropriate setting available is needed.

“We are relieved that there are not any more children at the Long Beach Emergency Intake Site, but we are still really concerned about what the future holds for these children, especially those 150 children who were transferred to long-term ORR facilities. None of the children released from this facility are guaranteed any connection to free legal representation or vital social services that are key to their transition and well-being. We are also concerned about the federal government's lack of proactive planning so that these sites do not ever become a solution. We can’t continue to label migration a crisis and never be prepared to welcome families with dignity. We need a better way of welcoming children and families without placing them in detention,” says, Gaby Hernandez, Executive Director of LBIRC.

The full letter and recommendations can be found here.

Also, a recording of our findings can be found here:

• Video of Findings
• Video of Findings (Spanish)
• Video of Findings (ASL)

Media Contacts

Melody Pomraning
Disability Rights California
Melody.Pomraning@disabilityrightsca.org
(916) 504-5938

Disability Rights California (DRC) is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of drc is to advance the rights, dignity, equal opportunities, and choices for all people with disabilities. For more information visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org.