The Briefing Room
General Category => Immigration/Border => Topic started by: mystery-ak on July 23, 2014, 12:45:10 pm
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http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=584315 (http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=584315)
Newsmax
Democrat-Led Cities Offer to Shelter Illegal Migrants
Wednesday, July 23, 2014 07:03 AM
By: Elliot Jager
Local and state authorities from California to New York have expressed willingness to accept unaccompanied minors at federally funded facilities who arrive illegally in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The offer to shelter the migrant minors, who come mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, comes in the face of considerable opposition in Arizona, California, Michigan, Maryland and elsewhere.
Since October, some 57,000 children have flooded into the US. Federal officials have been hard pressed to find housing for the youngsters after they have been screened. They remain in one of about 100 Department of Health and Human Services shelters until alternative solutions can be found.
Once they arrive at a facility and have a sponsor, the federal government will cover their food, clothing, and medical needs through its system of grantees, the Journal reported.
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick said military bases in his state were available as shelters. New York City, Syracuse, Los Angeles, and Dallas are among the municipalities willing to pitch-in.
Stephanie Miner, the Democratic mayor of Syracuse is working with the feds to place the children in vacant buildings on the grounds of the Sisters of St. Francis convent.
Political Scientist Louis DeSipio of the University of California says that the politicians willing to help are moderate to liberal Democrats and located in communities that have considerable immigrant populations. "They are also giving the president some coverage by saying, 'We don't want these kids crossing but we will be responsible to the ones who are here,'" the Journal reported.
In contrast, the Republican governors of Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin have written to President Barack Obama to say they are alarmed by reports that illegals placed with families have been skipping their immigration hearings. "We are concerned that there will be significant numbers who will end up using the public schools, social services and health systems largely funded by the states," the Journal reported.