California Gov. Jerry Brown In Favor of State Having More Shelters for Undocumented Central American Children

On Tuesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown said he is willing to house additional undocumented Central American children in his state.

Brown is on a three-day-long trip to Mexico that started on Monday. On Tuesday, he met with over 12 Central American religious leaders as well as Los Angeles Catholic Archbishop José Horacio Gómez and discussed immigration.

"I would do everything I could to make sure California will do its part to shelter any young children that are in need of protection," the governor said after the meeting according to The Associated Press.

The federal government currently has three shelters for Central American minors in the state, including Building 267, a Naval Base in Ventura County.

"I would support additional shelters to deal with this particular immediate challenge we have," Brown continued.

The governor argued that instead of strengthening the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. needs to work with Mexico and Central American countries to figure out an answer to the immigration problem. For example, Brown said he is against military force and in support of allocating funds to development programs in Central America.

"[The U.S.] has to keep a humanitarian frame of reference as it deals with each one of these young immigrants, and there has to be courageous actions on the part of Central American governments if we're going to get the problem solved and Mexico also has to be part of the fix," Brown explained. "The United States government is spending $20 billion on the border, and a fraction of that invested in other problems in Central America might create a lot more security."

On Wednesday, Brown will conclude his trip with the signing of a Mexican trade agreement. Mexico is California's biggest export market.

Brown's trip was organized by the California Chamber of Commerce, and a delegation of over 100 people from California's government, business, economic development, investment and policy factions each paid $5,000 to attend, subsidizing Brown's expenses.
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