Plan would create a Marietta shelter for immigrant children

MARIETTA, Ga. — MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - A building in Marietta could be used to house immigrant children under a plan by a local nonprofit group.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Freemont Grace Human Services obtained approval from the city's zoning department to refurbish an existing building and convert it into a shelter.

The nonprofit says the shelter could house up to 50 unaccompanied immigrant children in custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A spokeswoman for the federal agency says a program to establish such a center is accepting applicants now. Grace is seeking a federal grant to renovate and staff the building on Powers Ferry Road.

The proposal comes as a surge of children - many of them from Central America - have crossed into the United States along the southern border.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

Associated Press