Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday he does not support the use of a facility on Emancipation Avenue to shelter immigrant children who were separated from their families at the border.
Turner said he met with Southwest Key representatives and asked them to reconsider.
“Because if we facilitate these type of policies, then what do we do the next time?” he asked. “It becomes a little bit easier. And the next time, it becomes a little bit easier. And then one morning we will wake up and ask ourselves, what sort of society have we allowed ourselves to create?”
Flanked by dozens of political, faith and community advocates, Turner said he has no issue with Southwest Key itself. The nonprofit runs 26 immigrant children’s shelters in Texas, Arizona and California, according to their website.
"I don't want our city to participate in this policy'" @SylvesterTurner says. "We draw the line and for me, the line is with these children."#FamilySeparation
— Houston Public Media (@HoustonPubMedia) June 19, 2018
News 88.7 has reached out to Southwest Key for comment. We will update this post once we hear back.