Homeland Security head battles immigrant-rights groups Washington Times, May 28, 2017, Stephen Dinan
Immigrant-rights groups were left steaming after Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said most of the illegal immigrant children who streamed into the U.S. in recent years were “a huge scam,” abusing lax policies to gain a foothold here.
Mr. Kelly also said the families in Central America and here in the U.S. who orchestrated the dangerous journeys were guilty of “human trafficking” of their own children.
“Their families are actually involved in human trafficking at this point,” the tough-talking retired Marine general told the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, suggesting that the families are abusing the generosity of U.S. laws and having the tab for part of the children’s trip picked up by American taxpayers.
He was tapping into a fierce debate between security advocates and immigrant-rights activists in recent years.
The activists argue that most of the children are fleeing horrific conditions in Central America and deserve some sort of refugee protection in the U.S., while top Homeland Security officials in both the Obama and Trump administrations have said the children are being enticed by lax policies, hoping to reconnect them with family already in the U.S. — usually here illegally themselves.
More:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/28/john-f-kelly-battles-immigrant-rights-groups/
