South Carolina's delegation wants answers about 350 undocumented children

COLUMBIA - The Republican members of South Carolina's congressional delegation sent a letter to the secretaries of Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, requesting additional information concerning undocumented children being housed in South Carolina.

In the letter dated July 28, the congressmen expressed frustration after the Department of Health and Human Services announced that 350 undocumented children were placed with sponsors in South Carolina without notice to local authorities.

"We are troubled that this data is just coming to light and was not provided to Congress or our delegation in a timely and regular fashion," read the letter, which was signed by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, and Reps. Joe Wilson, Mark Sanford, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney and Tom Rice.

Mulvaney said they first drafted a letter last week, in an effort to request more information. On Friday, however, they learned HHS had already placed the 350 children in South Carolina homes.

"What's frustrating is how little we still know," Mulvaney said Tuesday. "We don't know where these kids are going. We don't know to whom they're going and the potential for abuse there is outrageous. It's a failure at many, many levels by the administration."

The letter asks if any additional children are being housed in the state, and asks for a 14-day prior notification before housing any undocumented children at a military installation or HHS-contracted shelter in South Carolina.

"I am extremely concerned that my office's repeated attempts to request data about any and all placements in South Carolina were consistently met with misleading information," Scott said in a written statement through his spokesman.

"Throughout this process, we have continually been told by various Obama Administration agencies that no unaccompanied minors had been placed in South Carolina and that no plans existed to start those placements," he added. "Clearly that information was wrong, and the administration must provide us the truth in answering today's letter."

Other officials nationwide also have voiced frustration with the placement of the children in their states, including the governors of Georgia, Wisconsin, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Utah. All sent letters to President Barack Obama expressing concerns about the children.

During a conference call with federal officials last week, governors and their staff were told children are treated differently than adults. Undocumented adults are placed in shelters. Unaccompanied minors are placed with sponsors, a move that's in the "child's best interest," according to HHS' website.

Feds ensure the sponsors do not have a criminal history, and that the children are vaccinated and medically cleared. But they do not check for the sponsor's legal status.

It is unclear how the children are arriving in South Carolina, whether sponsors are physically picking them up or if they are being transported individually to the state. The governor's office confirmed that the federal government has no plans for housing undocumented adults in South Carolina.

Gov. Nikki Haley spoke to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on July 16, and he told her no undocumented minors were being housed in shelters or facilities in South Carolina, according to a letter she wrote the following day. Haley was told by Johnson, however, that federal law prevented him from speaking about individual placements.

Mulvaney said the border crisis has all but halted discussions on immigration reform predicated on border security. He added he believes the Obama administration has no interest in fixing immigration.

"This is not an issue of the president not having enough money," Mulvaney said. "It's an issue of the president not having the political desire to do his job and enforce the border. And we're going to see negative ramifications of that in our schools, in our healthcare, in our communities."

THIS JUST IN The UN underlines Obama's refugee plan---will broadly designate illegal aliens at our borders, including MS-13 members from Central America, as “refugees.”So are violent gang members roaming the streets in your town?

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REFERENCE Violent transnational gangs 'recruiting unaccompanied minors at Border Security facilities'
Daily Mail UK ^ | July 27, 2014 | Daily Mail / FR Posted by COUNTrecount

Members of some of the United States' most notorious street gangs have infiltrated shelters housing illegal immigrant minors from Central America and are recruiting them, say Homeland Security sources. An estimated 57,000 minors from Central America have flooded across the border from Mexico to the U.S. in recent months, and gang leaders are reportedly filling their ranks from among them.

Transnational gangs such as the Mara Salvatruca, also known as MS-13, and the 18th Street gang are using established juvenile members from Central America to cross the border and recruit other children to the cartels, say sources. Recruiting drive:

There are reports that gangs are trying to recruit young immigrants from Border Protection facilities where they're being held According to Fox News, Border Control agents have witnessed gang members using a Red Cross phone bank at the facility at Nogales, Arizona, to 'recruit, enlist and pressure' other minors into crossing the border. Shawn Moran, vice president of the National Border Control Patrol Council, a union which represents border agents, says agents have witnessed the recruiting process.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said earlier this week that they have no knowledge or evidence that gangs are recruiting immigrant minors. (Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...

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There were interesting exchanges on this topic at yesterday's House hearing on immigration.

<><> Patriot Cong Randy Forbes said Americans need to know if violent gang members are walking their streets. Forbes asked UCIS--a DHS agency--headed by Obama appointee Leon Rodrigues---whether the agency asked applicants whether they are gang members---and when they invariably reply no, how does the agency know whether it's true or not?

Rodriguez would not reveal information---Forbes insisted on knowing "do you even ask them if they're gang members."

<><> Even more interesting was watching brilliant Cong Louie Gohmert (Rep-Tx) set the trap for the oily Rodriguez. Gohmert--- the former judge's brilliant circumlocution was awesome. He nailed the mealy-mouth Gonzalez to the wall.

GOHMERT: WRT drug cartels paid $6000 to "guide" the hordes over the birder---"Would you, as a former prosecutor, call them criminals?," he nonchalantly asked Gonzales.

Gonzales stepped into the trap as Cong Gohmert casually hoisted him on his own petard. Making the point that if the hordes were coming here to escape drug cartels, why is it they pay the violent breed to get over the border?

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REFERENCE Comments on the C-span hearing rebroadcast of yesterday's House hearing on border immigration.

Obama appointee, UCIS head, Leon Gonzales was interviewed. Totally biased---said his second language was Spanish----and that he once belonged to Casa Manana (or something), that was advocating for unlimited immigration.

The lock-stepping Gonzalez gets grade A for Evasion and for loyally following orders from the Commandant in the WH.

When Democrats questioned him, he knew everything and responded in great detail. But to Republicans he whined about being new to the jobs---and parroted "gotta get back to you on that."

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Repub Cong/men Jason Chaffetz, Louis Gohmert and Randy Forbes were standout patriots, protecting Americans from the invading hordes at the border.

Cong Gohmert stopped the show with his probing judicial-like queries---the former judge's brilliant circumlocution, and his prodigious knowledge of the law was awesome---as well as his ability to nail Gonzalez to the wall.

WRT drug cartels paid $6000 to "guide" the hordes over the birder---"Would you call them criminals?," he asked Gonzales. Making the point that if the hordes were coming here to escape drug cartels, why is it they pay the violent breed to get over the border?

Gonzales made a show of his legal bgrnd---but he paled agaimst Goehmert's expertise. Gonzales, as a former prosecutor and officer of the court, should know that the US justice system is not amenable to dispensing justice to litigants w/ "unclean hands"---a legal term meaning those who have committed crimes. His license to practice law should be pulled.

Sad to see Cong Jason Chaffetz's resignation, knowing we'd get nowhere with the lock-stepping Gonsalez----prostrate in obeisance to Obama---his lips pressed firmly to the WH behind.

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Cong Guttierez (Dim-Ill) made a lamebrain appearance--- this imbecile had to have used voter fraud to get into office---no one in their right mind would vote for the Spanglish-speaking moron.

We need to find out (1) how many identities he's using, (2) how many govt checks he, his family, and his staff are cashing, and, (3) Guttierez's membership in violent organizations advocating the overthrow of the US govt.

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