TUNICA, Miss. — A former Tunica, Mississippi, casino hotel could be used to house unaccompanied immigrant minors.
The “Influx Care Facility” or ICF would be located in the sprawling Harrah’s Hotel Complex, which has been vacant since Harrah’s Casino closed in 2014.
John Keith Perry, Board Attorney for the Tunica County Board of Supervisors, says the County has not officially voiced support for the vacant Harrah’s Casino Hotel complex to become an immigrant “influx care facility,” housing as many as 2,000 minors.
“Obviously, anything that deals with immigration is a hot button issue,” said Perry. “The Board, like any other Board of Supervisors, speaks through its minutes, speaks through its resolutions. There has not been any formal action from the Board of Supervisors.”
Perry says at this time, the current owners are in talks with a private entity interested in acquiring the property, which he says is in remarkably good condition after being closed for 10 years.
Perry says any facility housing immigrant minors 17 years of age and younger would have to meet strict and specific federal regulations, and it’s his understanding the facility would be “self-contained.”
“So, you don’t have children that would be out and about for their safety reasons,” he said.
Perry says he does not see the facility as a detriment to the community. State Representative from District 9, Cedric Burnett says he does not agree.
“I think if they located immigrants at that location it would not benefit Tunica, it would not benefit the casinos, it would not benefit the State of Mississippi,” said Burnett.
Burnett says he was approached to support the project but declined.
“I think that location should be used to compliment the gaming industry. You know Tunica is a tourism town, we depend on gaming,” he said.
Burnett believes the 22 acres could best be developed for tourism and says if the project goes through, Tunica County will lose out.
“It seems to me that the only two people that would benefit from it would be the person who’s selling the land, and the person that’s actually got a large contract with the Federal Government to house the immigrants,” said Burnett.
According to Cedric Burnett, if the deal goes through, the firm operating the facility could receive as much as $150 per child from the federal government.
The Tunica County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Wednesday night stating that the county can not appropriately accommodate the Immigrant Initiative.
“We do not have the adequate resources to support or accommodate the Immigrants Initiative. When it concerns public safety, public healthcare, along with child protective services; Tunica County does not have a local hospital in the event of an emergency. We have to transport our patients to area hospitals located in Desoto County, Tate County, Clarksdale and Memphis, Tennessee.”
We reached out to the law firm representing the current owners of the property for a comment but we have not heard back.