Politics & Government

Housing Illegal Children: If Not Here, Where?

Some political leaders oppose support for unattended children sent over the border with Mexico. What's the right response to this crisis?

The federal government is struggling to provide aid for children sent unattended over the Mexican border and officials are seeking aid from state governments and local nonprofits. But some politicians are staunchly against any support.

In Virginia this week, the chairman of the state House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety raised concern that gangs, drug lords and possibly even terrorists would take advantage of any effort to house the illegal children.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., sent a letter this week to the Center for Disease Control, worried about a health epidemic as these children enter the country without standard vaccines. 

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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, was put on the spot this week regarding temporary housing for the children, after reports that he rejected a pitch from the White House to bring some of the children to an Army Reserve Center in a conservative part of the state.

Some politicians are learning these children have already been housed in their community for some time. In Prince William, Va., county leaders are seeking information about a local nonprofit program that temporarily houses unattended children who cross the border illegally. This kind of program can already be found in communities across the country.

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Should state and local political leaders interfere with federal and nonprofit efforts to house illegal children? Where should they find temporary housing for these children?


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