Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) publicly called on Congress to amend the Flores v. Reno consent decree Sunday in an USA Today op-ed. The original Flores decree required the federal government to release Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) from detention facilities within 20 days, allowing them to live in open settings such as foster homes or other placements.
Former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who led the Department of Homeland Security during the second half of the Obama Administration, said in a Fox News interview Sunday that the U.S. government must end catch-and-release on the border. Additionally, he said that the Trump Admin. should expand family detention centers like the previous administration did.
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged Congress to close the loopholes in the immigration system during the White House Press Briefing on Monday. Additionally, she presented current statistics pertaining to illegal immigration on the southern border and stated that DHS will continue to prosecute those who attempt to illegally enter the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a report Wednesday revealing that border patrol agents apprehended 50,308 persons last month — 37 percent more apprehensions than in February and about 200 percent more than the 16,588 apprehended the same month one year ago.
A recent study conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) on MS-13 criminal arrests shows a surge of the gang's activity specifically in areas subject to sanctuary policies and large numbers of resettled UACs. According to the report, 506 MS-13 members were charged with or arrested for crimes, including 207 arrests for murder in 22 states, with 92 cases in California, 84 in Maryland, 80 in New York, and 63 in Virginia -- all states that have resettled a large number of UACs.
The Weekly Standard -- Jeryl Bier
Healthd anHuman Services (HHS) took the first step to prepare for a possible "surge" of unaccompanied minors in 2015. HHS posted a "Sources Sought" notice to gather information on "options for contract surge capacity to shelter and care" for children who enter the country on their own. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 placed the responsibility for such children on HHS instead of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
On Thursday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell inquiring about the "stewardship of taxpayer dollars in question during unaccompanied minors influx". In the letter, Senator Grassley said he received information about a facility run by Southwest Key Programs that includes expensive amenities.
