U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is speaking out against a proposal to use a vacant casino hotel property in north Mississippi as a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
Last week, talks of plans to turn the Harrah’s Casino Complex in Tunica into an influx care facility (ICF) through the federal government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement caught the attention of both the public and lawmakers.
Hyde-Smith, in pursuit of answers after being swarmed with phone calls and emails from concerned Mississippians, reached out to Jeffrey Hild, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.
Hild informed Hyde-Smith that a competitive task order was sent out to vendors that have existing contracts with the U.S. Department of Interior seeking requests for proposals to establish a new ICF to house roughly 2,000 migrants between the ages of 4-17. A private entity quickly conveyed interest in converting the 1,356-bedroom Tunica hotel, which has been empty since 2014, into a center to facilitate the minors.
Harrah’s Hotel Complex in Tunica
(photo from Tripadvisor)
The Republican senator said she was also alerted that Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson was behind the move to repurpose the casino hotel — a sentiment parroted by Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson.
“As I understand it, 17 states are up for consideration. One of our congressmen is working hard to land the contract for his cronies,” Watson wrote on social media. “The people of Tunica deserve better than their own member of congress trying to benefit from something the community vehemently opposes.”
According to Hyde-Smith, the company working in cahoots with Thompson is Dynamic Construction Group, a company based out of Baton Rouge, La. If an ICF happened to be approved in Tunica, the organization would receive around $150 per occupant from the federal government daily, which could equal out to as much as $300,000 per day.
While Dynamic Construction Group has yet to confirm or deny that they have attempted to purchase the Harrah’s lot and submit a request for proposal to turn the property into an ICF, Thompson’s press secretary sent the