Congressman opposes use of CDP in Anniston to house illegal immigrants

Congressman Mike Rogers

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks criticized a federal proposal Tuesday which would temporarily house undocumented immigrants at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston.  In a letter to the secretaries of the Homeland Security and Health and Human Services departments, Rogers wrote that he was “deeply concerned” about the proposal. The CDP, however, will not be considered as a processing facility, according to an statement Tuesday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s external affairs department.    The statement said that “CDP’s facilities were briefly considered as part of a broad review of potential facilities for temporarily sheltering unaccompanied children,”

The federal government has been struggling to deal with an influx of undocumented immigrants crossing the border with Mexico in recent weeks, especially unaccompanied children. The Obama administration has said it is concerned about the crossings as a humanitarian crisis, and want to provide aid to children before deciding whether they should be deported.  A presidential memorandum published June 2 stated that the federal government would ensure all the resources, including “personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and managerial, technical, and advisory services” would be used to provide proper care for unaccompanied children.