Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican Florida Representative and other Sunshine State Republicans wrote a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Friday asking for information about the number of migrant shelters and bed spaces in Florida.
The Daily Caller obtained the first copy of Becerra’s letter, in which he asks for details regarding the death in Florida of Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, 17, from Honduras. He died in an emergency shelter. Luna calls for more transparency in her letter, saying that many of the people she represents were unaware the shelter operated near them.
As our community recovers from the tragedy of last week, we are writing today to find out more about how this [Office of Refugee Resettlement] operates. Please send us a list with the number of beds in each facility that ORR operates or has contracted with to house [Unaccompanied Alien Children] within the state of Florida. “We look forward to receiving your timely response,” wrote the legislators.
The letter was also signed by Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Rep. Laurel Lee and Sen. Rick Scott.
Paulina Moon told The Caller that the tragedy of an unreported death of a child migrant at the hands of federal authorities in a Safety Harbor refuge had saddened and shook her district before she sent the letter. The fact that Pinellas citizens were not informed that the shelter was located in their backyard is both worrying and unacceptable. My constituents are still deeply concerned as to why they weren’t informed about the shelter that operates out of their home and its direct impact on them.
“We ask that HHS give Florida residents a complete list of the number of migrant shelters operating in their communities. This is a reasonable and simple request.” She added that she would continue to press HHS for full transparency in this matter.
HHS didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from a Caller about the letter.
