Granite Ridge partner seeking workers for 'influx care facility' for migrant children in Erie
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NORTH EAST — When he met Thursday morning with U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and Borough Manager Pat Gehrlein, William Unger, the director of operations for Granite Ridge, put the chances of the campus housing unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the southern border at "less than 20%," according to Gehrlein.
Granite Ridge hasn't signed a contract, he told the group.
However, the Erie Times-News has learned that an Alexandria, Virginia-based military contractor, which has performed millions of dollars of work for the federal government's unaccompanied migrant children program, is not only working with Granite Ridge officials, but has begun advertising several job openings for an "influx care facility" in Erie. The positions have also been posted on LinkedIn.
Culmen International, which Granite Ridge officials have yet to publicly name as a potential partner, is looking for bilingual employees to fill a variety of positions including director of education, behavioral health clinician, youth care service professionals and supervisors, significant incident report specialists and directors and case managers to "support contracts with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)."
The Erie Times-News discovered the job openings Thursday.
Erie is among the cities listed in a drop-down menu of locations on the company's job-search web page. Each of the job descriptions note that work would be performed at an influx care facility. Currently, there are no such facilities in the Erie area.
More: As pandemic-era rule ends, talk of housing migrant children at North East's Granite Ridge ramps up
More: Housing for unaccompanied migrant children in North East? Granite Ridge owner considering it
"The program provides unaccompanied children with a safe care environment until they are reunified with their appropriate sponsors while their immigration cases proceed," The company's website says. "The ORR has identified critical needs for influx care facilities, program services and transportation. Culmen positions support the needs of UC's ensuring children welfare, safety, and timely reunification efforts and culture of care."
The company is looking to fill the positions in both Erie and Midland, Texas. There are no application deadlines listed on the job descriptions, but the job ID numbers include the current year.
Unger, in a text message Friday morning, said he was traveling and wouldn't be available for comment until Friday afternoon. The Erie Times-News also left a message with a representative for Culmen International, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ehrenfeld Companies, which purchased the former Mercyhurst North East campus for $4.5 million in 2022, acknowledged on March 24 that, among several other possible uses for the campus, it was considering playing an "incredibly meaningful humanitarian role in caring for vulnerable children from outside the U.S., until they can be reunited with their families" and that it was working with another entity to do so.
"One of the many considerations for campus activation and large economic impact could potentially include an organization that provides educational, recreational, case management, language and cultural acclimation services for unaccompanied children," the March 24 statement said.
The announcement has raised myriad concerns among North East residents about the impact the facility would have on property values, local schools and the aesthetics of the picturesque campus, which is surrounded by homes and located just blocks from the North East School District.
Elected officials have told members of the public they were caught off guard by the March 24 announcement and that they cannot answer questions about Granite Ridge's plans without more information. The property straddles the township and borough lines, but it is mostly located within the township.
Granite Ridge officials are scheduled to hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Michele and Tom Ridge Health and Safety Building on the campus, 14. W. Division St.
More about Culmen International
Culmen International was formed in 2004. It has done tens of millions of dollars of work for the federal government, according to federal contracts.
On its website, Culmen International lists its areas of expertise as weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation; border security; counterterrorism; homeland security; military, intelligence and federal law enforcement operations; security cooperation and international partner capacity building, and international development.
It boasts of having worked in 130 countries to "accomplish critical missions in challenging environments" for its clients.
"Culmen International is committed to enhancing international security, strengthening homeland defense, optimizing government operations and providing humanitarian assistance around the world," its website says.
In April 2021, Culmen International received a $29.5 million contract from HHS to operate a facility for unaccompanied minors at the Key Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Volunteers who worked at the facility would later allege that when Culmen International took over the day-to-day operations of the shelter that children began being treated like "prisoners" and complained to them of being hungry, according to a report by the Daily Beast. The company did not comment for the article at the time.
New information from feds
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children & Families, operates the unaccompanied children program.
The Department of Homeland Security is required to promptly transfer unaccompanied migrant children that it or another agency apprehends at the border to the ORR. The ORR houses the children until it can match them with a sponsor, which is often a parent or other relative. It is not involved in the legal proceedings to determine the child's immigration status.
Since 2021, the U.S. southern border with Mexico has seen a record surge of migrant children from Central American countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, crossing into the United States. Biden, as president, exempted children from a pandemic-era rule known as Title 42 that allowed the federal government, on the basis of controlling the spread of a communicable disease, to deny asylum seekers from gaining entry into the U.S.
Title 42 is set to expire Thursday. Southern states are preparing for a flood of immigrant arrivals, with some cities declaring a state of emergency.
In an April 28 memo, the Office of Refugee Resettlement noted that it now has 296 facilities or programs in 27 states — a 48% increase from the 200 facilities in 22 states that it previously reported.
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/orr/icf-uc-fact-sheet.pdf
"While ORR has worked to build up its licensed bed capacity, additional capacity is urgently needed to manage the increasing numbers of unaccompanied children referrals from DHS," the memo states. "In preparation for the potential need for additional beds and to provide services and care that align with child welfare best practices, HHS opened several influx care facilities."
More than 8,100 unaccompanied minors with no legal immigration status are currently under ORR's care.
The memo addresses many of the same issues that North East residents have raised about Granite Ridge.
"The impact of these shelters on the local community is minimal. Unaccompanied children remain under staff supervision at all times," the memo states. "HHS works in close coordination with local officials on security and safety of the children and community. The unaccompanied children in ORR custody do not attend local public schools. HHS arranges for the security of unaccompanied children. On-site security is 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
'Expressing serious concerns'
Kelly's meeting with Unger ran about 30 minutes and was held at North East Borough Hall. Borough Manager Pat Gehrlein said he was asked by Kelly's office to set up the meeting with Unger and offered to invite other elected officials, but Kelly's office declined.
"Over the last month, North East residents have called my office expressing serious concerns about the future of the Granite Ridge site," Kelly said in a statement. "We are here to learn more about the future of the site and to ensure that North East residents are heard. My job as a representative is to stand up for my constituents and demand answers. We are doing just that."
2021: Migrant children in Erie: Here is what we know
Kelly, a staunch critic of President Joe Biden's immigration policies, also noted that he "led efforts" in April 2021 to look into the use of the Pennsylvania International Academy in Summit Township as an emergency intake site for 146 migrant girls apprehended at the southern border. Kelly later obtained the lease between the property owner and Health and Human Services, as well as an inspection report of the facility. The children were at the facility for about three weeks before HHS connected them with a sponsor. No children were housed at the facility after that time.
On Friday, Gehrlein confirmed to the Erie Times-News that Culmen International was not mentioned by name during the meeting with Kelly, nor was the fact the organization is advertising job vacancies for an Erie influx care facility.
Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on Twitter at @ETNRink.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Granite Ridge partner seeking workers for 'influx care facility' in Erie
