Undocumented Children Arrive In Rockwall County
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ROCKWALL CO. (CBS11) — A hundred undocumented children from Central America arrived at a private camp in Rockwall County Saturday.
The last group of charter buses full of 12- to 17-year-old children arrived at the Sabine Creek Ranch around 8 p.m. Sunday another 100 children are expected to arrive at the Rockwall County ranch.
These undocumented children were caught in recent weeks crossing the border without any adults. The children are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Federal officials say they could spend up to three weeks at the Texas ranch while authorities search for relatives in the U.S. they can stay with until their immigration court date.
"It doesn't really bother me that there here," John Anderson, who lives across the street from the Sabine Creek Ranch, said. "I think it is good for the kids."
However, Anderson said not everyone in Rockwall County shares his opinion.
"Some people just flat don't like it," he said. "They are totally against it."
Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson came by Saturday to check on the federal government's plan.
"What we've seen, we're impressed," he said. "We feel like the ratio of workers to the refugee children is very good, and we don't see any negatives at this point."
Between the 200 children that will be housed in Rockwall County and the others in Ellis County, the federal government has allocated $12.9 million. No local tax dollars will be spent, according to county officials.
Lakeshore Church in Rockwall will be collecting donations on Monday, Dec. 21, for gift bags to be given to the 200 children on Christmas. A list of acceptable gift items from the government can be found at the Sabine Creek Ranch website.
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