An Atlanta-area Baptist ministry says the federal government has asked whether it could help care for the surge of immigrant children who are illegally crossing the southwest border on their own.
Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries released a statement this week saying the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement made contact in March.
Between 1998 and 2005, the Baptist organization sheltered hundreds of unaccompanied immigration children from 53 countries. A spokeswoman for the organization on Friday said she could not say if or when those services would resume.
“At this time, we have simply answered inquiries concerning our capabilities of serving these children and are waiting to see if we will be called upon for assistance,” said Alice Bagley, a spokeswoman for the Baptist ministry.
Bagley’s organization provides shelter for troubled children, youth, and families and has campuses in Baxley, Meansville and Palmetto.
Thousands of children have been streaming across the southwest border in recent months, fleeing poverty and violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Calling it an “urgent humanitarian situation,” the Obama administration has been scrambling to care for the children. This week the White House asked Congress for $3.7 billion in extra funding to respond to the crisis.
“As a Christian caring ministry to children, we believe it is our mission to reach out to any child who comes to our door,” James Harper, president of Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes, said in a prepared statement issued this week. “At this time, we continue to have an open dialogue with state and federal agencies and stand ready to assist these children in need.”
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