SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — On one side of San Diego’s Convention Center is a marina filled with multi-million dollar yachts. On the other side, Harbor Drive is lined with tall palm trees.
The Convention Center itself considered an architectural wonder, famous for its roof designed to look like sails on sailboats. It’s also the home of Comic-Con, a yearly event where comic book fans gather to meet artists as well as Hollywood elite behind super-hero and adventure movies.
But the facility has been mostly dormant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lately, it’s been housing the homeless who are in the process of moving out this week.
Soon migrant children will move in, flown from various parts along the border, mostly from Texas.
“These kids are without their parents,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said.
On Monday, Gloria and San Diego County representatives announced they had agreed to house migrant children at the 2.6 million-square-foot convention center.
Gloria says it’s the right thing to do.
“Every American should be part of making sure children are cared for. If this was their child, they would hope it was a compassionate community, a welcoming city that does right by their kids. Or do you turn a blind eye and have them live in conditions none of us expect a child to be in?” he said.
While Gloria is very much in favor of using the convention center to house the children, some believe the public was not given enough input or a chance to give theirs.
“I have a lot of concerns,” said Bill Wells, the mayor of El Cajon, a small city on the east side of San Diego County. “The public didn’t get a chance to weigh in on this whatsoever. The convention center is a public asset, the public has a right to know what’s happening and what the plans are.”
Wells made his comments on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
Neither he nor his city fund the convention center nor do they have any decision-making related to the facility.
Wells insists he has nothing against the children or whether they should be cared for. He says the convention center is not the right place for the minors.
“There were several other sites that would’ve made sense. We have several colleges that aren’t being used right now with dorm rooms, we have a sports arena, lots of other places, but the public should be involved with this,” Wells said.
No specific timeline has been given as to when the children will begin arriving in San Diego and housed at the convention center or how long they will remain.
Gloria has said it will only be temporary.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kate Morrissey, the Health and Human Services Agency is saying up to 1,400 unaccompanied children will be housed at the San Diego Convention Center.
