On the heels of news that a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children might open in Northern Virginia, there is now talk that a similar shelter may come to D.C.
The Washington Post reported that Dynamic Service Solutions, a federal contractor, filed an application to open the temporary shelter in D.C. The contractor is searching for bilingual employees to work with unaccompanied migrant children.
The company’s online job listing for a bilingual lead teacher states that it is looking for a candidate who will ensure that unaccompanied minors receive educational assessments and a “minimum of six hours of structured education Monday through Friday.”
Other job openings include bilingual lead case manager, bilingual medical coordinator and bilingual youth care worker.
On Tuesday, city leaders reacted to the proposal to open a shelter in D.C.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement that the city will “not be complicit in the inhumane practice of detaining migrant children in warehouses.”
Bowser noted that the city recently closed the D.C. General shelter that housed hundreds of people, which she said was “too big to succeed.”
“We know that such impersonal spaces are not what our most vulnerable families and children need. We have no intention of accepting a new federal facility, least of all one that detains and dehumanizes migrant children,” she said.
Councilmember Brandon Todd, who represents Ward 4 where the proposed unaccompanied minor shelter could be, said in a statement posted on Twitter that he will not stand idly by as children are placed in danger that could leave “irreparable, lasting trauma.”
“I will do everything in my power to fight against this inhumanity,” Todd said.
