MICHIGAN – The immigration crisis on the southern border, involving tens of thousands of minors from El Salvador, Honduras,and Guatemala, has become a concern for Michiganders who live in a rural community with fewer than 3,000 people.

Wolverine Human Services, a social services agency that typically helps needy Michigan children, is in the process of securing a contract and negotiating with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to bring between 60-120 male illegal immigrants, between the ages of 12-17 [pictured above], to the small city of Vassar without any input from residents of the community.
About 100 concerned citizens, some bearing signs, gathered outside the Vassar City Hall Monday night to let public officials know what they think. (READ MORE)
NEW YORK – The Sisters of St. Francis confirmed today that federal officials are exploring the idea of using the religious order’s vacant Syracuse buildings to house immigrant children awaiting deportation.
Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Families and Children traveled to Syracuse on Monday to inspect six buildings on the 10-acre Franciscan campus at Court Street and Grant Boulevard, said Rochelle Casella, speaking for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.
The inspection is part of an initial site assessment to see if two former convents or the former Maria Regina College center may be suitable for temporarily housing an undetermined of children from Central America who are awaiting deportation hearings.
Cassella stressed in an interview Tuesday that the Sisters of St. Francis did not decide whether to accept any federal offer to lease or buy the properties.
“The Sisters say there are a lot of factors to be taken into consideration,” Cassella said. “The Sisters have made no decision about the future of the property.”
Federal officials initiated this week’s visit, she said, and looked over potential living quarters that include a gymnasium and commercial cafeteria. HHS officials would not confirm the Syracuse visit. (READ MORE)