Pima County approves deal to house migrants

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TUCSON — Pima County supervisors narrowly approved Monday an agreement to use an unused portion of its juvenile detention facility to house asylum-seeking migrant families.

The deal pitted nonprofit groups that regularly work with migrants against each other over the proposed location amid concerns that an active detention center was unsuitable for families seeking asylum in the United States.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to OK the agreement, labeling it the only viable choice to avoid having migrants dropped off by the U.S. government in the streets of Tucson.

Up until now, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had dropped off many of the families at a former Benedictine Monastery under the care of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. But the group must vacate the property by Aug. 6 because the owner is moving forward with plans to develop apartments at the site.

“We do wish that time had not been of such an essence,” Teresa Cavendish said after the vote. She’s the director of operations for Catholic Community Services.

Under the agreement, Pima County will take on some of the expenses associated with running the shelter at the new location, such as utilities and food, because it will be run jointly with the active juvenile detention center.

The county estimates it will spend up to $530,000 in the next four months in related expenses. They are seeking reimbursement from the federal government using Operation Stonegarden grants.

Community and migrant groups urged supervisors to vote against the deal, criticizing the use of an active juvenile detention facility to house families that had just been released from detention by CBP and ICE.

Gretchen Lopez, the site director for The Inn Project — the other permanent shelter taking in migrant families in Tucson — said a big part of the issue was that other nonprofit and community groups were not consulted about the deal. They didn’t have the chance to help look for suitable alternatives, she said.

“Now we’re going to work even harder to still move in the direction of finding something else that will meet the standards,” Lopez said. “And then hold accountable to that point that it was stated, ‘as soon as it’s not needed, we’re out.’ So I think that work will begin immediately.”

Supervisors call on long-term alternative

As part of the agreement, Catholic Community Services will move into three unused, renovated wings of the juvenile detention facility and transform it into a centralized shelter for migrants en route to other parts of the country.

Pima County will take over the operation of certain services like food and laundry and cover expenses such as utilities and maintenance. The agreement lasts until Dec. 31, with an option to renew it for four years.

After the contentious vote, Pima County supervisors called for nonprofits to come together and work to find another alternative to house migrant families for the long term.

Richard Elias, the chairman of the board, apologized to community groups for not including them in the decisionmaking process earlier. He earlier had pushed the prospect of using vacant schools in Tucson to house migrants but dropped the idea after realizing the sites wouldn’t be ready by the Aug. 6 deadline.

“I’m calling on people to put their best foot forward and find an alternative for us here,” he said.

The vote was split along party lines. The Board of Supervisors’ three Democrats voted in favor of the deal. The two Republicans on the board voted against it. groups to find

Supervisor Steve Christy, one of the no votes, said he was unable to support the deal because he felt county taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for the shelter. Even with plans to seek reimbursement, he said there were no guarantees the county would get all its money back. He also noted liability concerns.