HOUSTON, Texas — President Obama’s Health and Human Services (HHS) has responded to the crisis along the Texas-Mexico border by quietly releasing illegal immigrant minors onto U.S. soil. 30,340 illegal immigrant minors have already been released in states around the country–4,829 were released in Texas alone. HHS’ Office of Refugee and Resettlement (ORR) recently published additional statistics, showing how many unaccompanied alien children (UAC) were set free in various counties across the country. More were released in Texas’ Harris County–in which Houston is located–than any other county in the nation.
As of July 31, 2,866 UAC were set free in Harris County.
Dallas County received the second most UAC in Texas–a total of 851 were released there. Denton County, which is considered part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro-area, received the least number of UAC in Texas: 55.
Authorities have released far more Central American migrants in Texas than any other state in the nation. Many Texas residents are frustrated and others feel unfairly targeted by the federal government–the illegal immigrants will impose many costs on the state. Texas’ schools, hospitals, and other public facilities will now be forced to accommodate the growing number of foreigners dumped in the state.
Educating the foreign minors will not be cheap; David Anderson, the Texas Education Agency General Counsel, recently pointed out that due to cultural differences and language barriers, it will be more costly to education immigrant children than it is to educate students who are U.S. citizens. In Texas, more than $45 million will be spent educating the UAC this year.
California also received a substantial number of UAC, but nowhere near as many as Texas, according to ORR stats.
It is still unclear how HHS decides how many UAC end up in each state.
Foster families, or “sponsors,” for the migrants are often located through nonprofit organizations. Breitbart Texas has reported closely on the process of becoming a foster parent of a foreign youth.
The HHS website said, “Federal law requires that ORR feed, shelter, and provide medical care for unaccompanied children until it is able to release them to safe settings with sponsors (usually family members), while they await immigration proceedings. These sponsors live in many states.”
It continued, “The sponsor must agree to ensure the child’s presence at all future immigration proceedings. They also must agree to ensure the minor reports to ICE for removal from the United States if an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order.”
Despite what HHS touts, many of the unaccompanied minors never show up for mandatory court hearings. Breitbart News previously reported that 90 percent of the released illegal immigrants in the Dallas area appear in court for an immigration hearing.
Follow Kristin Tate @KristinBTate.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.