HHS Sec: Beds for Illegals Can Cost Feds Up to $1K

At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday, President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell said that beds for illegal immigrant children can cost the federal government up to $1,000 per bed.

While asking the senators to approve the Obama administration’s request for $3.7 billion to deal with the border crisis, Burwell said that beds can cost $250 to $1,000, and the supplemental funding was needed so the federal government can enter into more cost-effective contracts.

There have been at least 57,000 illegal immigrant children who have unlawfully entered the country since October of last year, and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he expects nearly 30,000 more to enter before October of this year. Federal officials have estimated that at least 150,000 more illegal immigrant children will attempt to enter the country in the next fiscal year.