Loading...
Resolution 2018-30366RESOLUTION NO. 2018 -30366 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE DENIAL OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN FOR HUMANITARIAN INSPECTIONS AND PURPOSES AND IMPOSING, AS OF THE DATE OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION, A MORATORIUM ON THE CITY CONTRACTING WITH ANY ENTITY, OR SUBSIDIARY THEREOF, OPERATING DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN DETAINED BY UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES UNTIL SUCH ENTITIES, OR SUBSIDIARIES THEREOF, PERMIT ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITIES BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEEKING ENTRY FOR INSPECTIONS AND HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES. WHEREAS, between April 2018 and the signing of an Executive Order on June 20, 2018, the Trump Administration, under a "zero tolerance" immigration policy, separated children, including infants, from their parents who were being criminally detained for unlawfully crossing the U.S. border with Mexico; and WHEREAS, although the policy and practice of family separation has purportedly been amended to prospectively prevent the separation of infants and children from their parents when detained at the U.S. border, many questions still remain with regard to how children that are already detained will be reunited with their families, and the conditions under which children will be detained in the future: and WHEREAS, in a recent attempt to verify the adequacy of the housing, education. nutrition, and care being provided to immigrant children that had been separated from their families, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz recently sought access to the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, operated by Comprehensive Health Services, and were denied entrance; and WHEREAS, any entity, or subsidiary thereof, that is managing or operating a shelter or detention facility for immigrant children that does not allow access to such facility by elected government officials that represent the interests of the public welfare, is in contradiction to our nation's democratic values, and is so compelling of a nature as to seriously and directly affect the responsibility of such entity relative to a City of Miami Beach contract or subcontract; and WHEREAS, any entity, or subsidiary thereof, that is operating an immigration detention center or shelter for children and that denies access to such facility by government officials for the humanitarian purposes of evaluating whether adequate and proper standards of housing, education, nutrition, and health care are being provided, should be prohibited from contracting with the City of Miami Beach until access by government officials seeking entry for inspections and humanitarian purposes is permitted. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby condemn the denial of access to government officials to immigration detention facilities and shelters for children for humanitarian inspections and purposes and hereby impose, as of the date of the adoption of this Resolution, a moratorium on the City contracting with any entity, or subsidiary thereof, operating detention facilities or shelters for children detained by United States immigration authorities until such entities, or their subsidiaries, permit access to such facilities or shelters by government officials seeking entry for humanitarian inspection purposes. PASSED AND ADOPTED this r 7 day of %uhe. , 2018. ATTEST: NCORP °PATE 7-51/Y Rafael -. Granado, City Clerk (Sponsored by Commissioner Ricky Arriola) Dan Gelber, Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION ( g City Attorney Date F\ATTO \TURN \RESOS\Moratorium on contracting with entities denying humanitarian accessdoc MIAMI BEACH Resolutions - C7 F COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM Raul J. Aguila, City Attorney DATE: June 27, 2018 SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE DENIAL OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTER FOR CHILDREN FOR HUMANITARIAN INSPECTIONS AND PURPOSES AND IMPOSING, AS OF THE DATE OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION, A MORATORIUM ON THE CITY CONTRACTING WITH ANY ENTITY, OR SUBSIDIARY THEREOF, OPERATING DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN DETAINED BY UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES UNTIL SUCH ENTITIES, OR SUBSIDIARIES THEREOF, PERMIT ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITIES BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEEKING ENTRY FOR INSPECTIONS AND HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES. RECOMMENDATION Pursuant to the request of Commissioner Ricky Arriola, the above - referenced Resolution is submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission at the June 27, 2018 City Commission meeting. Legislative Tracking Office of the City Attorney Sponsor Commissioner Ricky Arriola ATTACHMENTS: Description ❑ Resolution o 061818 Ltr from Arriola to Gary G Palmer ❑ 061918 Miami Herald Article Nelson Wasserman Page 27 of 69 RICKY ARRIOLA COMMISSIONER June 19, 2018 Gary G. Palmer Comprehensive Health Services 8810 Astronaut Blvd Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 Dear Mr. Palmer, I recently learned that your firm, Comprehensive Health Services, is running the detention center in Homestead where a reported 1,000 migrant children are in captivity. http:// www. miaminewtimes .com/news/video -miami -chi ld- mnnt- compound -den ies- nelson- wasserman- schultz -entry- 10454112 I also read that your staff refused entry on to the property by our US Florida Senator and Congresswoman. As an entity that relies on government contracts for much of its 5100 million in revenues, 1 believe this will prove to be a horrible mistake for your company. Next week I am sponsoring legislation to ban your company and its subsidiaries from doing business in the City of Miami Beach so long as you continue to refuse the timely inspection of your facilities by our government representatives or their designees to ensure that these children are living in safe conditions; receiving proper medical care; being well fed and have access to emotional support services; and have adequate recreational and educational time. Recent images of similar facilities across the nation have sparked horror throughout our society and have revealed that these facilities are little more than prisons — where children are locked in cages for up to 22 hours a day. While I have no idea what your facilities are like, I assume that your refusal to allow Senator Nelson and Congresswoman Wasserman Shultz to inspect the facilities indicates that you have something to hide. The public needs the comfort of knowing that these children are receiving top -notch care. Until proven otherwise by our elected representatives, I will assume that your company is hiding something. 1 hope that 1 am wrong and that your facilities are first class. 1 am free to speak with you at your convenience - I can be reached at 305 673 7107 or via email at ricicyarriola@miamibeachtl.gov. 1 look forward to your response and would also welcome a tour of your facilities. Homestead is not far from my office. Sincerely, 2 --e_ c J. Ricky Arriola Miami Beach City Commissioner CITY OF MIAMI BEACH OFFICE OF THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE, MIAMI BEACH. FLORIDA 33130 TEL: (3051 673-7000 ENT a27- pag§11314j f0CKYARRIOLA ©MIAMIBEACHFLDOV Nelson, Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shelter anti Herald Page 1 of 12 94 HOMESTEAD - SOUTH DADE Nelson, Wasserman Schultz blocked from entering immigrant children shelter in Homestead BY DAVID SMILEY, BRENDA MEDINA, ALEX DAUGHERTY AND DANIEL CHANG dsm ile yna miamih era /d. ram bmedina @miamiherald ram adaugherty@mcclatrhydr mm dchang @miamihera /d com June 19,201801:36 PM Updated June 19. 2018 08:08 PM Amid uproar over the federal government's break -up of families caught illegally crossing the U.S. border, state and federal lawmakers were denied entry Tuesday to a shelter in Homestead where 1,200 immigrant children are being held, including dozens separated from their parents. Page 31 of 69 https://www.miamiherald.cominews/local/community/miam i- dade/homestead/art iele21344 _. 6/22/2018 Nelson. Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shelter Miami Herald Page 2 of 12 U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and state Rep. Kionne McGhee tried to enter the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, a previously dormant youth center only recently reactivated by Health and Human Services. But with a gaggle of media looking on, the lawmakers were turned away. The company running this facility told us we would be welcomed to tour the facility," Nelson said on Twitter. "HHS then denied us entry and said that they need 'two weeks notice' to allow us inside. That's ridiculous and it's clear this administration is hiding something." Some 1,192 children are being held at the center, 391 of them girls. Nelson and Wasserman Schultz said they're all between the ages of 13 and 17, and that 94 of them werc separated from their families. Nationwide, HHS has about 12,000 minors in its custody. Breaking News Be the first to know when big news breaks Enter Email Address fm not a robot r CAPTCHA "Are the kids sleeping on the floor ?" Wasserman Schultz asked. "Are they putting them in cages like in Texas ?" McGhee, Nelson and Wasserman Schultz, all of them Democrats, were shut out as controversy erupted over a Trump administration decision to aggressively detain and charge immigrants caught crossing borders into the U.S. and place their children in federal custody. The practice has thrown fire onto an already combustible campaign season, and led to calls for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Page 32 of 69 https: / /www.miamiherald.com/ news /focal/ community/ miami- dade/homestead /article21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson, yasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shelter "Miami Herald Page 3 of 12 U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D -FL), center. walks with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D -FL), and Florida House Rep. Kionne L. McGhee to the entrance before being denied access to visit the Homestead Temporary Shelter For Unaccompanied Children on June 19, 2018, in Homestead, Florida. Joe Skipper - Getty Images Florida Republicans and Democrats alike slammed the policy this week, even as HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in Miami Tuesday that his department is "working to expand capacity to ensure we can properly care for the children." The Homestead shelter, for instance, opened amid a startling rush of unaccompanied child immigrants during the Obama administration, was shuttered last year after their numbers dwindled under Donald Trump, and then reopened quietly in February a few weeks before Trump rolled out his new "zero tolerance" strategy at the borders. A Health and Human Services spokesman says the facility, located near the Homestead Air Base, is temporary. But Wasserman Schultz noted that there are two additional, long- standing shelters in Miami -Dade County housing migrant children taken into HHS custody. It's unclear, though, if any of those children were separated from their families. Page 33 of 69 https: / /www.miami herald.com/ news /IocaUco mmunity/ mtami- dade/homestead /aniele21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson, Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shel :er Miami Herald Page 4 of 12 This is a policy created by President Trump, and he can end it in a nanosecond," said Nelson, who faces a tough reelection campaign against Gov. Rick Scott. Nelson, Wasserman Schultz and McGhee had planned to tour the Homestead facility and even get some video as they hoped to see the conditions in which children are being held. Standing before a press gaggle, Nelson said he had information from a mother in Texas who says her son was taken to the Homestead shelter. But as they walked across the street to pass through a gate to the shelter, which is run by HHS contactor Comprehensive Health Systems, the lawmakers were stopped by a staff member who said they weren't going to allow them in. "Right now you guys are trespassing on federal property," a uniformed man told them Tuesday. RELATED STORIES FROM MIAMI HERALD Up to 1,000 children held by immigration authorities now living in Homestead compound Miami, are we going to let 1,000 children be kept in detention in the dark? Speak up! Page 34 of 69 https: / /www.miamiherald.com/ news/ Iocal/comrmmty/ miami- dade/homestead /artide21344... 6122/2018 Nelson. Wasserman Schultz blocked at I lomestead minor shelter' Miami Herald Page 5 of 12 A protester holds up a sign during a press conference in front of the detention center in Homestead. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz were denied entry to the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children. Jose A. Iglesias- jiglesias @elnuevoherald.com The trio walked to an office across the street from the shelter where they tried to get answers. Minutes later they were back in front of the cameras, questioning why the Trump administration wouldn't let them in. "They are denying access to a sitting member of Congress, to a sitting U.S. senator and to the incoming [minority] leader of the Florida House, for what reason other than a coverup?" said McGhee. "Why don't they let us go in to set eye on these children? To make sure their safety is in place ?" Page 35 of 69 https: / /www.miam iherald.com/ news / local / community/ miami- dade/homestead/artiete21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson, Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shelter Miami Herald Page 6 of 12 An HHS spokesman declined to comment on additional shelters Tuesday, saying the department doesn't identify shelters of children in its program 'for the safety and security of minors in the unaccompanied alien children program." But two facilities in Miami Gardens and Cutler Bay, both run by religious organizations, have housed unaccompanied minors for years. His House, in Miami Gardens, has always been a shelter for orphaned kids and started taking in immigrant children four years ago, when thousands of children began streaming across U.S. borders. The shelter was designated by HI-IS' Office of Refugee Resettlement to care for unaccompanied child migrants, according to the organization's website. Due to federal rules, executive director Silvia Smith- Torres could not say whether immigrant children who have been separated from their parents are currently living at the shelter. She said she was unable to provide the current number of immigrant children living at the facility, which was pegged at 120 during a Miami Herald visit in January. In Cutler Bay, a facility known as Boystown also houses unaccompanied minors. After learning of its existence, Mayor Peggy Bell said she visited the shelter, now called Msgr. Bryan Walsh Children's Village, and was told it houses immigrant children but not whether any of them were separated from their parents. Page 36 of 69 hugs; / /www.miamiherald. corn / news / local / community/ mianri- dade/homestead/artiele21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson. Wasserman Schultz blocked at Ilomestead minor shelter Miami Herald Page 7 of 12 Senator Bill Nelson and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz are denied access to the Homestead facility by a security officer, left, while surrounded by media. Jose A. Iglesias - jiglesias@miarniherald.com HITS Secretary Azar told the Miami Herald Tuesday that all children taken into his agency's custody are well cared for, and that the "vast majority' come into the country without adult supervision. But he couldn't say how many children he expects to shelter. "They get education. They get meals. They get medical care. They get daily athletics. But the number one thing we focus on with them, in addition to a safe environment, is also transitioning them to sponsors," said Azar. "It ends up 50 percent of the kids end up with their parents as their sponsors. About 40 percent on average end up with other family members here in the United States. And about 10 percent or so end up with non - related individuals, maybe foster care, other volunteers who want to take the child in." Page 37 of 69 hugs: / /wwwmiamiherald.eom/ news / local / common[ y/ mlamj- dade/homesteadlarticle21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson, Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor shelter Miami Herald Page 8 of 12 On Monday, even as security at the Homestead shelter warned media that they were trespassing, a Miami Herald reporter was able to glimpse dozens of kids playing soccer in a field. But the practice of taking children from their parents at the border has been widely condemned, and HHS has been criticized for its supervision of children under its custody. Miami Herald parent company McClatchy reported Tuesday, for instance, that the government had likely lost track of nearly 6,000 children whose sponsors had not kept in contact with federal officials. On Tuesday, Gov. Scott slammed the practice of separating immigrant families and demanded in a letter to Azar that HHS keep the state informed of any children placed into Florida shelters after being taken from their families at the border. In his own letter to Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen, Miami -Dade schools chief Alberto Carvalho complained that HHS had said nothing to his staff about the existence of hundreds of school -age children in Homestead, and pointed out that the district sent teachers to shelters during an influx of immigrant children during the Obama administration. A spokeswoman for Curbelo also called on HHS Tuesday to provide more information about its operations, noting that the agency doesn't make a distinction internally between children who are separated from their families and those who enter the country as unaccompanied minors. "Representative Curbelo is continuing to demand answers, and finds it troubling that federal elected officials seeking answers were turned away from the facility today," Joanna Rodriguez said. She added that Curbelo is calling on Trump to immediately end the practice of' family separation, even as Congress attempts to fast -track legislation that would allow families to stay together. Julio Calderon, a Honduran immigrant who crossed the border undocumented when he was 16 and temporarily placed in federal custody, doesn't buy that the Homestead facility is a shelter. He says its a glorified detention center. Page 38 of 69 https: / /www.miamiherald.com/ news/ IocaVcommunity/ miami- dade/homestead /article21344... 6/22/2018 Nelson. Wasserman Schultz blocked at Homestead minor she' ter Miami herald Pere 9 of I'_ "Gan they go with their families if they want to? Can they leave ?" he asked. "For me, the question is, what's going to happen to these kids? What's next? How do they transition out of here? Can family members claim them? Will they be reunited with their parents? Or will they be deported ?" Miami Herald staff writers Douglas Hanks, Kyra Gurney, Charles Rabin and Jacob Sweet contributed to this story. Page 39 of 69 MIAMI BEACH Ciry of Miami Beach, 700 Convention Ce ter Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamlbeackfl.gov Office of the City Clerk Tel: 305 -073-7411 July 9, 2018 Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Dear Secretary of Health and Human Services Azar II, Attached please find a copy of City of Miami Beach Resolution No. 2018 - 30366: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE DENIAL OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTER FOR CHILDREN FOR HUMANITARIAN INSPECTIONS AND PURPOSES AND IMPOSING, AS OF THE DATE OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION, A MORATORIUM ON THE CITY CONTRACTING WITH ANY ENTITY, OR SUBSIDIARY THEREOF, OPERATING DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN DETAINED BY UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES UNTIL SUCH ENTITIES, OR SUBSIDIARIES THEREOF, PERMIT ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITIES BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEEKING ENTRY FOR INSPECTIONS AND HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES. (Sponsored by Commissioner Ricky Arriola) This Resolution was unanimously passed and adopted by the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach on June 27, 2018. Respectfully, Rafael E. Granado City Clerk c: Commissioner Ricky Arriola RESOLUTION NO. 2018 -30366 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE DENIAL OF ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN FOR HUMANITARIAN INSPECTIONS AND PURPOSES AND IMPOSING, AS OF THE DATE OF THE ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION, A MORATORIUM ON THE CITY CONTRACTING WITH ANY ENTITY, OR SUBSIDIARY THEREOF, OPERATING DETENTION FACILITIES OR SHELTERS FOR CHILDREN DETAINED BY UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES UNTIL SUCH ENTITIES, OR SUBSIDIARIES THEREOF, PERMIT ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITIES BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEEKING ENTRY FOR INSPECTIONS AND HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES. WHEREAS, between April 2018 and the signing of an Executive Order on June 20, 2018, the Trump Administration, under a "zero tolerance" immigration policy, separated children, including infants, from their parents who were being criminally detained for unlawfully crossing the U.S. border with Mexico; and WHEREAS, although the policy and practice of family separation has purportedly been amended to prospectively prevent the separation of infants and children from their parents when detained at the U.S. border, many questions still remain with regard to how children that are already detained will be reunited with their families, and the conditions under which children will be detained in the future; and WHEREAS, in a recent attempt to verify the adequacy of the housing, education, nutrition, and care being provided to immigrant children that had been separated from their families, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz recently sought access to the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, operated by Comprehensive Health Services, and were denied entrance; and WHEREAS, any entity, or subsidiary thereof, that is managing or operating a shelter or detention facility for immigrant children that does not allow access to such facility by elected government officials that represent the interests of the public welfare, is in contradiction to our nation's democratic values, and is so compelling of a nature as to seriously and directly affect the responsibility of such entity relative to a City of Miami Beach contract or subcontract; and WHEREAS, any entity, or subsidiary thereof, that is operating an immigration detention center or shelter for children and that denies access to such facility by government officials for the humanitarian purposes of evaluating whether adequate and proper standards of housing, education, nutrition, and health care are being provided, should be prohibited from contracting with the City of Miami Beach until access by government officials seeking entry for inspections and humanitarian purposes is permitted. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby condemn the denial of access to government officials to immigration detention facilities and shelters for children for humanitarian inspections and purposes and hereby impose, as of the date of the adoption of this Resolution, a moratorium on the City contracting with any entity, or subsidiary thereof, operating detention facilities or shelters for children detained by United States immigration authorities until such entities, or their subsidiaries, permit access to such facilities or shelters by government officials seeking entry for humanitarian inspection purposes. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 2.7 day of JUnt: 2018. ATTEST: Rafae I-s- /X Granado, City Clerk (Sponsored by Commissioner Ricky Arriola) Dan Gelber, Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION City Attorney Date e\ATTO \ TURN \ RESOS \MCratorfom on coritlact(ng with entices deryirg humantarian access.doc