Manning says Greensboro ICF could house Helene victims

Rep. Kathy Manning, D-NC6, announced on Friday that Greensboro’s unoccupied Influx Care Facility (ICF), retained by the federal government to house illegal alien minors, could be used as a temporary shelter to house displaced victims of Helene. 

This announcement came just one day after Mark Walker, former US Representative for the Sixth Congressional District, made this suggestion in an X post. The Greensboro ICF currently sits empty while undergoing upgrades.

The process is “underway,” and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been working on this “for several days now,” according to Manning. 

 “My heart aches at the devastation Hurricane Helene has brought to our state. The urgent need for relief is profound, particularly for those who have been displaced from their homes,” Manning told the Carolina Journal. “To address the immediate housing crisis, my office is actively engaging with the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the potential use of the Greensboro Influx Care facility as temporary accommodation for those impacted by the storm. My office will maintain close contact with HHS as they make critical determinations about the facility’s usage. In this moment of urgent need for our neighbors in western North Carolina, I am committed to ensuring that resources are swiftly mobilized and reach all those affected by this unprecedented storm.”

The Greensboro ICF officially opened in March but has been sitting unoccupied since then. Local officials told Walker that zero refugees or illegal migrants are currently being housed in the facility. 

An HHS factsheet indicates that as of June 23, operations have been at “facility upkeep.” Once up and running, the facility will serve as a temporary holding facility for unaccompanied migrant minors. 

“…thanks to the Biden administration’s new border policy, there’s been a drop in the number of unaccompanied minors coming here,” said Manning. “That facility has not been used and it’s sitting and available, but it’s going to a variety of steps to make sure the facility can be used for people whose lives have been turned upside down, whose homes are no longer habitable because of Hurricane Helene.”

The federal contract is currently being reviewed to see if it allows Helene victims to be temporarily housed at the facility or if the contract could be modified, according to Manning. 

In an X post on Friday, Walker said that he met security guards at the facility gate, and they provided him with an email address where he could submit his request concerning the facility. Walker also said that he has left multiple voicemails for HHS with no response. He encouraged emails and phone calls in support of his call to “Open the Gates.” 

I visited the HHS contracted site yesterday and met security guards at the gate. They provided this email on my request to utilize the 800 bed facility for displaced western North Carolinians. I have also left multiple voicemails for US DHHS region four (404) 562.7888 – they have… https://t.co/r6w2xCprdC pic.twitter.com/sQyLBNnbdg

— Mark Walker (@RepMarkWalker) October 4, 2024

The post Manning says Greensboro ICF could house Helene victims first appeared on Carolina Journal.