As pandemic-era rule ends, talk of housing migrant children at North East's Granite Ridge ramps up
NORTH EAST ― On the same day a federal immigration rule that was used to turn away asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire, North East residents will learn more about the prospects that unaccompanied migrant children could be housed in their community.
The owners of Granite Ridge will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 11 at the Michele and Tom Ridge Health and Safety Building on the 70-acre campus, 14 W. Division St. It will be the first time Granite Ridge officials directly answer questions from the public about the possibility that the former Mercyhurst North East campus could be used to house unaccompanied migrant children detained at the southern border.
Granite Ridge Director of Operations William Unger, in a text message to the Erie Times-News, called the meeting a "Q&A session for the public," and said that he, other company representatives and some "local leaders" will be on hand, but that he did not have a confirmed list of attendees as of Monday.
Coincidentally, the meeting will occur the same day that President Joe Biden's administration scheduled a federal rule known as Title 42 to expire. Title 42, also known as the Public Health Service Act, dates to 1944 and gives federal health agencies emergency powers to prevent the spread of communicable disease.
Former President Donald Trump's administration enacted Title 42 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to expel migrants, including those seeking asylum, attempting to cross the southern border from Mexico. The Biden administration has continued to follow the rule, with a major exception: It exempted unaccompanied children from the rule, which has led to a surge of children from Central American countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, crossing the border without a parent or guardian.
Southern U.S. cities are now bracing for a wave of migrants of all ages as the emergency rule is brought to an end.
Opposition to Granite Ridge's migrant housing plans
At a North East Township Board of Supervisors meeting Monday, resident Dave Herman raised dozens of questions during a presentation to supervisors. He asked if anything is being done or can be done to stop the federal government, especially as it wields emergency powers, and if the federal government could override local ordinances.
"What should we be doing now to work against this possibility?" asked Herman, who is leading a group that has been formed to oppose Granite Ridge's plans. "Do we need to ask our state or federal representatives for additional legislation to offer protections against placing an unaccompanied immigrant children facility in the heart of our downtown area, adjacent to schools, businesses, residences, and senior living? Do we even have time for that legislative process to work?"
Herman noted that North East's comprehensive plan calls for the Granite Ridge property, which straddles the borough and township lines, to be given a consistent mixed-use zoning classification across both municipalities. He wondered whether that recommendation works against the township or borough if either were to prohibit the property from being used to house unaccompanied minors based on current zoning classifications.
Herman also asked whether Jonathan Ehrenfeld, the president of Granite Ridge ownership group Ehrenfeld Companies, could use, as the basis for a legal battle, his input into the comprehensive plan as leverage.
"Well, not now," Supervisor Russ LaFuria responded. "He deceived us."
More: Housing for unaccompanied migrant children in North East? Granite Ridge owner considering it
LaFuria said the zoning recommendation in the comprehensive plan was made when officials believed that Granite Ridge would be used as an athletic training facility similar to another company in Ehrenfeld's portfolio, the Geneva, Ohio-based S.P.I.R.E. Institute.
"Everyone's concerned," LaFuria told Herman and other meeting attendees.
Supervisor Fredrick Shunk said the "comprehensive plan is just a plan."
"This is a law-setting board," he said. "Zoning is law. Nothing has changed. The way it looks, and I can only talk for one, it doesn't look like anything's going to get changed."
Impact of facility usage in question
Granite Ridge has advertised itself as an ideal place to hold sports camps, weddings, conferences and other events. It has also marketed its apartments and townhouses, as well as office space. On March 24, the company, responding to press inquiries, acknowledged that it was also working with another entity to potentially use the facility to house unaccompanied migrant children. Since then, North East residents have expressed concern about the impact the facility would have on crime, property values, local schools and more.
Granite Ridge has asked supervisors to subdivide land on the northwest corner of the property in order to construct 40 modular homes. Supervisors have tabled consideration of the request.
"There's definitely no comfort level in the township with Ehrenfeld (Companies)," Shunk said at one point during Monday's meeting.
Unger, in response to supervisors' comments, said in a text message that, "I have extended an invite to the township to sit and discuss (plans). They declined."
Supervisors, however, would be barred by open meeting laws from meeting together in private with Unger.
"I have been personally meeting with members of the community individually and in small groups, offering tours and answering questions," Unger said. "I've met with dozens of people, both those in opposition and in support. That invitation remains open."
Unaccompanied migrant children detained at the border by the Department of Homeland Security must be promptly transferred to the care of the Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, which operates the program that would operate out of Granite Ridge and 200 other facilities across the country.
Some 7,380 children were in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement as of April 17. The ORR works to transfer custody of children to a sponsor, who is often a parent or other relative. Children are under the care of ORR for 25 days on average, according to the latest data.
The ORR is not responsible for apprehending unaccompanied children, nor is it involved in the legal proceedings that determine their immigration status.
Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on Twitter at @ETNRink.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: North East supervisor: Granite Ridge 'deceived us' on intentions
