NASHVILLE, Tenn.—In a sign of the far-reaching impact of the U.S. immigration crisis and its political fallout, Nebraska's governor says 200 children who entered the country illegally were sent to his state this week without warning and that federal officials are refusing to identify them or their locations.Right.
Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, said federal officials also wouldn't answer questions about public school attendance by the children and the potential costs to taxpayers.
"Governors and mayors have the right to know when the federal government is transporting a large group of individuals, in this case illegal immigrants, into your state," Mr. Heineman told The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Saturday. "We need to know who they are, and so far, they are saying they're not going to give us that information."
An Obama administration official on Saturday said the Central American children now in Nebraska aren't at a facility but are being housed with family members and sponsors while they await immigration proceedings. Some of the children arrived in the recent border surge, while others came earlier in the year.
Mr. Heineman's complaint comes at a time when the federal government is contending with protests against the placement of illegal-immigrant children in other communities. Protesters in Murrieta, Calif., north of San Diego, have turned away buses carrying migrants, mostly women and children from Central America, to a U.S. Border Patrol station.
–The immigrant children are part of a deluge of tens of thousands of minors fleeing strife in Central America, a situation leading President Barack Obama to ask Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funds. More than 52,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the border into the U.S. during the first nine months of the fiscal year that began in October, and officials expect the total to reach 90,000 by the autumn.
The border crossings are a top concern among state officials gathered here for a National Governors Association meeting and a reminder, they say, that Congress's failure to overhaul immigration laws puts heavy burdens on the states.
Mr. Heineman said he raised the issue privately with Vice President Joe Biden after Mr. Biden spoke on Friday to the governors association. Mr. Biden's office declined to comment on Saturday.
The Republican Governors Association is alerting members about the transfer of children to Nebraska, highlighting the issue at a time when Mr. Obama is already facing criticism for failing to visit the border during a fundraising trip last week to Texas.
"There are concerns that this type of activity—placing children in locations across the country—is occurring throughout the United States, and information is not being shared appropriately with states," the Republican Governors Association policy director, Marie Thomas Sanderson, wrote in an email to members on Friday and viewed by the Journal.
Will Jenkins, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseeing the immigrant children, said the health and human services department is required to protect the privacy of unaccompanied children and keep their personal information confidential.
"Federal law requires that HHS feed, shelter and provide medical care for unaccompanied children until it is able to place them in safe settings with family members or sponsors while they await immigration proceedings," he said in a written statement. "These family members and sponsors live in many states, including Nebraska."
Protect the privacy, as if the Democrats cared about the well being of these illegals.
No comments:
Post a Comment