ORLANDO, Fla. _ Central Florida is no longer under consideration for a controversial shelter for migrant children planned by the Trump administration, according to U.S. Rep. Val Demings' office.
Demings spokesman Daniel Gleick said the office received word from the Department of Health and Human Services that it is now looking at Texas or Arizona for such a shelter.
The department had informed lawmakers in an email in July that Central Florida was on a list with Virginia and Southern California to build such a facility, meant as a replacement for the makeshift shelters used in places such as Homestead.
"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 that ALL children are treated with kindness and care," Demings, a Democrat whose district includes Orlando, said in a tweet Friday.
In August, the Orlando Sentinel reported the federal government had already listed specs for a building of about 100,000 square feet with 125 bedrooms to house 500 children that would be move-in ready by November 2020.
That news led to an outcry by Democratic lawmakers and officials, who condemned the idea and called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to use his influence with President Donald Trump to scrap the idea. DeSantis said at the time the state was not involved and he had not talked with Trump about it.
"Our community came together to oppose these cruel child detention centers and we prevailed," said U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat whose district includes Kissimmee. "We continue to object the Trump Administration deliberately slowing down the asylum-seeking process to promote their anti-immigrant agenda and forcing the demand for these facilities."
Soto said the conditions at the facilities "have been terrible, with a growing history of human right abuses and deaths."
Gleick said Demings also still opposed the creation of such a facility, saying Texas and Arizona were states with fewer child welfare laws and where children could be at greater risk.
"The Congresswoman will keep working to end child detention and return children to their families," Gleick said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings had said in August that the county received an inquiry about the Travelodge site at 1850 West Landstreet Rd. for use as a shelter, but the property's listing agent, Ahmed Kabani, said the broker who contacted the county was never authorized by the owner to make such inquiries.
No other Central Florida county or municipality reported getting any similar inquiries.
