Immigration: States Are Asking Obama About the Children of Illegals
Looks like President Obama snuck 760 illegal immigrants into the State of Tennessee. Gov. Bill Haslam and local elected officials are now wondering: "what are we supposed to do with them?"
On Friday, these children landed in the Volunteer State. The governor, however, is claiming no one in his office was even told they were coming and that he learned only after seeing a notice on the Health and Human Services website. This came even after Gov. Haslam had asked the White House to alert him prior to sending to his state any of the estimated 90,000 illegal children who have recently flooded the country. With more than 120,000 already estimated to be living in Tennessee, taxpayers in Tennessee already pay an estimated $547 million a year to provide public benefits and services to illegal aliens residing in the state.
According to data recently released by the Migration Policy Institute, between 2000 and 2012, the five states with the largest percent growth of the immigrant population were South Carolina (91%), Alabama (87%), Tennessee (83%), Arkansas (75%), and Wyoming (74%). Reports of 1,100 illegals being dropped off in the same manner without any warning in Georgia, as well as 350 in South Carolina, are starting to surface with others soon to follow.
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In a way, the American people should be flattered that the president treats everyone equally and doesn't communicate with anyone what is going on. For a president who is constantly complaining that he is learning about events by watching the news, however, don't you think he would have enough courtesy to not do the same to other executives in office? Not to mention, it is highly irresponsible to just drop 700 plus children off without giving any warning to prepare, especially considering most schools in Tennessee start classes within the next two weeks.
Communication and preparation are the last two elements this administration has been known for since the very beginning. Unless, you are a high dollar donor who gave to one of the 75 fundraiser's Obama has attended. Or, perhaps, have a mean golf swing and can join Obama on his next outing (he has already completed 81 rounds of golf since reelection).
This is a great opportunity for those "compassionate" Democrat donors to open up their grand estates and welcome these children in and Al Gore should be one of the first to set the example. Instead of donating millions to campaign coffers, promise the private funding of the education, feeding, healthcare and housing of these children as it would provide democrats a much better PR job than a tingle up any mainstream news anchors leg. In fact, I propose making the Hamptons the next Sanctuary City.
You can read the entirety of Gov. Haslam's letter below.
Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama from Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam; July 25, 2014:
The Honorable Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Obama:
I write to you to express my concern about the number of unaccompanied immigrant children entering this country and the failure of the federal government to notify states in which children are being released.
On July 13, the nation's governors met with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell during the annual National Governors Association meeting, which I hosted in Nashville this year. We spent a significant amount of time in that meeting discussing the issue of unaccompanied immigrant children. Although this is a complex issue and one that ultimately must be solved at the federal government level, governors are rightly concerned about the impact on states. We emphasized to? Secretary Burwell the need to be informed of any children being relocated to our states.
It is unacceptable that we became aware via a posting on the HHS website that 760 unaccompanied children have been released by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to sponsors in Tennessee without my administration's knowledge. Not only was our state not informed prior to any of the children being brought here, I still have not been contacted and have no information about these individuals or their sponsors other than what was posted on the HHS website and subsequently reported by media.
Although solving the border crisis is a federal responsibility, this influx of immigrant children could have a significant impact on state and local governments. Therefore, we strongly believe that the state needs to be informed prior to any additional unaccompanied immigrant children being released in Tennessee, and we also need immediate answers to the following questions:
1. What was the process for determining that these children should be released to sponsors in Tennessee?
2. How did you locate and evaluate the fitness of their sponsors?
3. What medical screenings were the children given prior to their release in Tennessee?
4. What is the official immigration status of these children and their sponsors?
5. In what localities are these children now residing?
6. What are the legal requirements concerning the provision of services for these children while they are in the state?
7. What additional information is available on these children, such as age and health status?
8. How long will these children be in Tennessee?
Tennessee is a diverse and welcoming state, and we also understand that this is a complicated issue. However, an influx of unaccompanied immigrant children to the state, with little information being made available to the public or to state leaders, creates confusion and could be very problematic. The start of school is approaching for many districts across the state, and the federal government's actions have caused great uncertainty around this issue.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to receiving a response to these urgent questions.
Sincerely,
Bill Haslam, Governor
cc: The Honorable Sylvia Burwell, Secretary, HHS
