Mayors across Connecticut are planning a conference call for Friday to see if they can help the immigrant children crisis on the Mexican border.
On that call will be Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra (D), as well as the mayors of 11 other towns.
Segarra said he’s already assigned city department heads to explore what facilities may be used to provide housing for some of the more than 55,000 immigrant children who crossed into the United States illegally and who are now in need of more suitable housing.
Governor Dannel Malloy declined a federal grant to put kids in a Southbury complex, claiming the state-owned space just isn’t up to living standards.
Mayor Segarra said if Hartford helps, so should other Connecticut cities.
“Whatever we do, we have to be responsible to make sure that everything that we do is in balance with our own needs and the needs of the children that we’re trying to help,” Mayor Segarra warned.
East Hartford’s mayor has already said the city has no space.
If Bridgeport finds room, the mayor’s office said the federal government needs to cover all costs of taking in and taking care of the children.