“I’m obviously very disappointed in the decision because I think it would be a win-win for the community and for Saint Paul’s,” Stith said.

For housing up to 500 unaccompanied immigrant minors, who have crossed the border illegally from Mexico, the college would have received $160,000 a month under the lease with HHS, he said.

The revenue would have helped pay for repairs that would make the property more attractive to potential buyers, he said.

But more importantly, he said, the use would have been in keeping with the mission of the historically black college, which was founded in 1888.

“This was a humanitarian effort that we thought we could be a part of,” he said, adding that he thought the fact that “we are a nation of immigrants” had been lost amid the heated rhetoric in Thursday’s public hearing.

Lawrenceville Town Councilman Robert F. Pecht said that because of the manner in which HHS sought to quietly open the shelter, the plan did not stand a chance even if all of the residents’ concerns could have been addressed,

HHS “broke the trust” with the community, Pecht said.