ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida is off the list of possible locations for a federal permanent shelter for undocumented children, federal officials confirmed Friday.
- HHS: Central Florida is no longer under consideration
- Feds had been eyeing property near Florida Mall for shelter
- RELATED:
The House Democrat's office announced the news Friday morning, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the report.
"I'm glad that our community won't be part of the President's inhumane child detention policy, and I will keep fighting to ensure ALL children are treated with kindness and care," Demings posted on Twitter.
Central Florida was one of three sites that the Trump administration had been eyeing to permanently house unaccompanied migrant children.
The HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement had looked into a property on 1850 W. Landstreet Road in Orlando, which is just a mile away from The Florida Mall. On the property is an abandoned motel.
The Department of Homeland Security has taken in almost 60,000 children, including thousands at a camp in South Florida, as it battles what it calls an illegal immigration crisis at the border.
"While Central Florida is off the list, the search continues in Texas and Arizona," Demings's office said.