In a press conference from Mexico City, conducted with Los Angeles archbishop José Horacio Gómez and “several other religious leaders,” California Governor Jerry Brown expressed support for additional shelters to house illegal alien youth in the wake of the influx coming across the U.S. southern border.
Brown commented on the “millions” of illegal aliens that have come across U.S. borders under both Republican and Democrat U.S. Presidents; however, Brown failed to acknowledge the exponential increase in the past several months. In the most recent nine months statistics have been released for, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seen a 106% increase, that is more than double and in less time, in unaccompanied alien children (UACs) crossing over the U.S. southwest border illegally.
“There are already a number of young immigrants, or young refugees, in Ventura, and I certainly would support additional shelters to deal with the particular immediate challenge we have,” said California Governor Jerry Brown according to the Sacramento Bee. The Ventura facility has over 20 physicians providing health services to the approximately 13 to 17 year old UACs housed there, at all times as posted on the Ventura County website.
The most recent estimate of minors being housed between military installations at Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, California, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas and Fort Sill, Oklahoma totals 1,400, Defense Department spokesman Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Crosson told Breitbart News. This is down from the more than 2,500 estimate just a week prior. According to Crosson, the numbers change frequently. The accommodation from military facilities to house UACs has come at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Just a week ago, a U.S. Department of Defense release stated that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had recently authorized “temporary housing to shelter an additional 5,000 unaccompanied alien children anticipated to arrive in the United States from Central America in the coming months.” Hagel also extended the fourth-month mission to house UACs through next January, according to the release.
In June, Escondido, California residents pushed back on a proposal that would have allowed a Southwest Key UAC detention facility to be installed in their city. Approximately 500 came out, mostly to oppose the facility, including Escondido Mayor Sam Abed and a representative from Congressman Duncan Hunter’s (R-CA) office, there on his behalf.
Southwest Key has received $457,947,289 in taxpayer money through HHS government grants according to amounts tracked through TAGGS. The Southwest Key website states, “Southwest Key’s system of shelters for unaccompanied immigrant minors are funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Administration of Children and Families under the Department of Health and Human Services.” UAC programs operated by Southwest Key are actively located in California, Arizona and Texas.
Family unit apprehensions over the southwest border as of June 30, 2014, soared to a 493% increase in nine months compared to the entire year prior. These numbers also only reflect apprehensions of unaccompanied minors and family units, but do not account for individuals that have successfully evaded capture or statistics for men or women adults traveling not as a family unit.
It is also clear from released statistics, that not those coming from Mexico, but rather those coming from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have driven the increase in UACs. Statistics for incoming Mexican youth are on par with 2013 according to the same report.