FEDS FLY UNACCOMPANIED MINORS TO ALASKA

[UncleBeer 244]

Why would they do this? As the article says, the flight to Alaska is twice as long as the flight back to their home countries. And regardless of whether or not the gubmint has found these illegals appropriate sponsors in Alaska, suffice it to say these kids belong with their own parents.

As unaccompanied minors continue to illegally cross the Texas-Mexico border, President Obama's Health and Human Services (HHS) has been quietly releasing them onto U.S. soil. A total of 30,340 unaccompanied minors have already been released from federal custody and placed into foster homes, according to HHS' Office of Refugee and Resettlement (ORR). While many migrants have been released in border states like Texas and California, others have been set free in Alaska.

A spokesman from HHS confirmed to Breitbart Texas that as of July 7, five unaccompanied minors were released in Alaska. "Between January 1 and July 7, 2014, a total of five minors were discharged from the Unaccompanied Alien Children program to sponsors in Alaska," the spokesman said.

The trip from McAllen, Texas--where the current border crisis is occurring--to Anchorage, Alaska is a nine and a half hour flight. This is almost double the time it would take to fly the migrants back to their home countries in Central America; a flight from McAllen to El Salvador takes just over five hours, according to Google Maps.

The federal government's reasons for transporting unaccompanied minors all the way to Alaska are unclear. Some of the minors have also been flown to Hawaii, according to Fox News' Todd Starnes.

Millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars have been spent flying illegal immigrants to locations around the nation. Breitbart Texas recently revealed that a Department of Homeland Security budget for Fiscal Year 2015 includes more than $87 million for the transportation of illegal immigrants, who are most often flown via charter plane from Southern Texas to shelters located in various U.S. cities.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/08/01/Feds-Fly-Unaccompanied-Minors-to-Alaska

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Probably because there's a legal process to follow, I'd imagine.

[Karee 4,190]

Probably because there's a legal process to follow, I'd imagine.

A legal process in Alaska? Seems like it would be the same process in Texas.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'm sure, but in the meantime they have to put people somewhere?

[Karee 4,190]

I'm sure, but in the meantime they have to put people somewhere?

Dallas county had all these facilities ready to hold these kids, and then the federal govt. came back and said we don't need them. I guess they'd rather spend money they don't have on plane tickets to Alaska.

After weeks of working to bring 2,000 immigrant children to area shelters by the end of July, Dallas County leaders announced Thursday that the kids won’t be coming after all.

The federal government has turned down the county’s offer to create three shelters for unaccompanied Central American children who have been detained after crossing into the United States, County Judge Clay Jenkins announced at a news conference.

“The children are not coming to temporary shelters in Dallas or to temporary shelters anywhere in the United States,” Jenkins said.

The flow of unaccompanied minors across the Texas border has dropped by more than half over the last month, and there simply isn’t a need for more shelter space, he said.

Federal officials were appreciative of the county’s efforts, the county judge said.

Jenkins, a Democrat, first announced plans to bring the children to Dallas County in a June 28 speech to the Texas Democratic Convention.

He said he’d seen reports of tens of thousands of children stuck at the border without parents. Many of them made the dangerous trek northward to escape dire poverty and rampant gang violence in their home countries.

Since Jenkins’ announcement, local and federal officials have spent many hours vetting sites and fielding calls from volunteers. There were public meetings, efforts by churches and nonprofits to muster resources to help the children, and protests outside Jenkins’ office and home.

Despite such protests, “I’ve been told that due to the strong community support, had sites been selected, the first choice would have been here,” he said.

Jenkins said he was disappointed by the government’s decision after all the work that had been done. But he said the announcement was good news overall: It’s a sign that the border crisis may be easing.

And Dallas County had a chance to prove itself a hospitable and caring place, he said.

“Dallas has shone brightest in this humanitarian crisis as a place of compassion,” he said. “We don’t turn our back on children who flee death and chaos.”

Three potential shelter sites were identified. Two were vacant schools, Hulcy Middle School in Oak Cliff and the Lamar Alternative Education Center in Grand Prairie. The third was an empty warehouse near Parkland Memorial Hospital.

But there was strong opposition to bringing the children to the area. People packed county Commissioners Court meetings and a Grand Prairie school board meeting to express concerns about public health, crime and straining local resources.

Others questioned whether Jenkins’ efforts were politically motivated, but he denied politics played a role in his actions. He often stressed to critics of his plan that the federal government, not local taxpayers, would have paid for the shelters. He said that the majority of people he heard from supported his plan and that the county was inundated with offers of help. That response made the effort worthwhile, he said.

On Thursday, area religious leaders praised Jenkins for his work. They said it shined a needed light on the plight of the children at the border.

“I was very proud of the commissioners and the people in the community who really came together to show love and compassion to the children,” said the Rev. Rudy Garcia of the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin Guadalupe, the downtown cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.

Garcia and other religious leaders urged the community to continue seeking ways to help the migrant children, even if they aren’t coming to Dallas.

The children particularly need lawyers to represent them in immigration hearings, the religious leaders said. A recent study from Syracuse University estimated that a child has a 90 percent chance of being deported if he or she doesn’t have a lawyer.

The Human Rights Initiative of North Texas estimates that it has trained 200 attorneys in the last month.

“Attention to these prospective shelters really brought out a whole level of volunteers that have never been here before,” said Bill Holston, executive director of the nonprofit initiative.

Staff writer Dianne Solis contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140731-border-children-wont-be-coming-to-dallas-county.ece

Edited August 2, 2014 by Karee

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

Perhaps the minors mentioned that it was a lifelong dream to visit Alaska and asked to do so before going back home.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

A legal process in Alaska? Seems like it would be the same process in Texas.

But you can see Mexico from Alaska.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

But you can see Mexico from Alaska.

Only on a clear, windless day.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Only on a clear, windless day.

And only from the top of Mt McKinley with a good telescope.

[Pooky 3,784]

Why would they do this?

Because the polar bears are getting hungry?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

But you can see Mexico from Alaska.

No, that was Russia.

[UncleBeer 244]

Perhaps the minors mentioned that it was a lifelong dream to visit Alaska and asked to do so before going back home.

Of course: A kind of "Make a Wish" program for lawbreakers.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

If Alaskans find offense to this move, it'll most likely be dealt with.

Lots of things can happen in Alaska.

[Pooky 3,784]

But you can see Mexico from Alaska.

No, that was Russia.

That's funny.

I thought Mexico was in Maine.

[UncleBeer 244]

If Alaskans find offense to this move, it'll most likely be dealt with.

That's assuming citizens are allowed to find out. Current White House policy is to keep all this a deep dark secret, under subterfuge that "illegals' 'right to privacy' trumps citizens' 'right to information'. You can't make this stuff up.

The White House won’t reveal where it is housing thousands of Central American juvenile migrants because their privacy rights trump Americans’ right to know what‘s happening in their neighborhoods, press secretary Josh Earnest declared July 16.

“The public does have a right to know what’s happening… [but] at the same time, there are privacy rights that are included in the law that this administration is committed to enforcing and following,” Earnest told Ed Henry, Fox News’ White House correspondent.