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Fairfield facility housing undocumented migrant youth

According to Congressman John Garamendi, the facility predominantly serves young, undocumented children who came to the U.S. unaccompanied.

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At least two facilities in Northern California are housing undocumented migrants, and one of the facilities is BCFS Health and Human Services, a foster care center in Fairfield.

According to Congressman John Garamendi, the facility predominantly serves young, undocumented children who came to the U.S. unaccompanied. However, he also believes children who were recently separated from their parents as part of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance policy" could be placed there as well.

"We have not been able to get confirmation," Rep. Garamendi told ABC10. "The Office of Refugee Resettlement is very difficult to deal with. They don't provide information to members of Congress and I believe that's also to the general public and media."

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 522 children have been reunited with their parents. Roughly 2,000 children remain separated.

"The real task here is to make sure that if there are any children that have been separated from their parents that they immediately are reunited with their parents," Garamendi said.

Another facility in Yolo County also houses undocumented youth. According to the county officials, the facility is specifically for teenage boys who are believed to be at risk to themselves or others or who have committed a serious crime. No children who have been separated from their parents were placed there.

Even so, while some believe the program is providing necessary services to these youth, others in the area have called for it to close.

"Whether it should continue or not really has to do with the ability of the facility to assist in the task at hand," Garamendi said. "It's never been clear to me exactly what it is they were trying to accomplish."

On Tuesday afternoon, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors plans to discuss the fate of the facility, including whether it should receive more money for additional staffing and services.

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Editor's Note: The headline was changed to better reflect the content of the story.

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