Despiteall the budgetary pressure impacting vital programs of importance to theAmerican people, the Obama administration has determined there’s still plentyof money to go around for illegal aliens.
That’s what we learned back onSeptember 9, 2014, when we obtaineddocuments from theDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS) that showed the ObamaAdministration paid Baptist Children and Family Services (BCFS) $182,129,786 toprovide “basic shelter care” to 2,400 “unaccompanied alien children” (UAC) forfour months in 2014. The BCFS budget included charges for $104,215,608 for UACsat Fort Sill, Oklahoma and an additional $77,914,178 for UACs at Lackland AirForce Base in San Antonio, Texas.
Thesedocuments were obtained in response to an August 1, 2014, Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) request seeking BCFS applications for funding,correspondence between the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF)and BCFS, and correspondence within ACF relating to BCFS. The records wereceived include the “Budget Information and Project Narrative portions of theBCFS applications funded in calendar 2014” for both the Ft. Sill and theLackland facilities.
AsJudicial Watch previouslyreported, there has long beenample evidence the Obama Administration was operating in anticipation of asurge in illegal aliens that it, in fact, clearly instigated. As Sen.Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has said, “The rising crisis at the border is the direct and predictableresult of actions taken by President Obama. He and his administration haveannounced to the world that they will not enforce America’s immigration laws,and have emphasized in particular that foreign youth will be exempted fromthese laws. The world has heard the president’s call, and illegal immigrantsare pouring across the border in pursuit of his promised amnesty. PresidentObama is responsible for this calamity.”
AfterJudicial Watch’s HHS-BCFS FOIA lawsuit, we now have further evidence that thisis the case. The start date of BCFS’s contract was October 1, 2013–a fulleight months before the deluge of illegal alien children the US suffered inmid-summer 2014. The project’s end date of September 30, 2016, suggests thatthe Obama administration anticipates that the deluge will continue until nearthe end of his presidency.
Afteranalyzing the documents, we also found that the HHS contract with the BCFSstuck the American taxpayer with a stunning tab. You should expect to pay$86,846.34 per illegal alien child at Ft. Sill, for a total to $104,215,608 for1,200 UACs from June 12 to October 18. The bill also included $2,648,800 incompensation for 30 members of the BCFS “Incident Management Team” (IMT), for atotal of $88,293 per IMT member for the four-month period.
The$77,914,178 to care for 1,200 children at Lackland Air Force Base amounted to a cost tothe taxpayer of $64,928 per illegal alien child from May 18 to September 18.The Lackland bill included $20,000 for a “cable television screen/projector setup” and 20 shower stalls at $1,000 each.
TheBCFS application for the Ft. Sill facility also includes the followingexpenses:
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“BCFS HHS proposed to operate a team of highly qualified professionals as outlined below… Incident Management Team… comprised of 30 members… for a 120 day event” – $2,648,800.
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“[H]otel accommodations 822 staff x $125 hotel rate per night divided by 2 (two staff per room, will share) plus 20 individual rooms will be added – $6,765,000.”
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“Food will be provided by a local catering service at $75 per day for 3 meals and 2 snacks. The meal plan is estimated to provide 1200 UACs and 822 staff at a minimum: $75 x 2022 individuals (staff + youth) x 120 days – $18,198,000.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the USDA, the cost to feed a teenager per week in the U.S. is roughly $71.70 – or approximately $10 per day.]
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“Medical supply expenses include the cost of first aid kits, latex gloves, lice shampoo, pregnancy and urine tests… Total medical service and supply reimbursement is requested in the amount of $1,120,400.”
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“Recreational items will include board games, soccer balls, basket balls, jump ropes, bracelet making kits, yarn, puzzles, arts and crafts, decks of cards, and eye-hand coordination game sets. Reimbursement is requested for $180,000.”
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“Educational items will include… tempera paint, paint markers, paint brushes, easel brushes, art paper… Crayons, multicultural crayons… for $180,000.”
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“Laptop Kits… 100 Kits… 5 Laptops per kit – $500 per kit… $200,000.”
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“VOIP Phone Kits… 80 kits… 10 cell phones per kit with International call capabilities and radio… $160,000.”
TheBCFS application for the Lackland facility includes the following, inaddition to many of the above:
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“Summary Budget by Object Class… 1200 Emergency Surge Beds, May 18, 2014 – September 18, 2014” – $77,914,178.
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“Utility expenses will include cable television (video screen/projector set up – due to the large dormitory set and configuration to ensure large group seatings can view movies, sports, etc.) and is estimated at $5,000 per month x 4 months – $20,000.”
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“In addition, contact with family members is imperative and part of BCFS’s daily programing in which each client is affording the opportunity to call their families twice every week… 1200 UACs x 2 calls x 20 minutes – 48,000 minutes a week x .75 x 16 weeks – $576,000.”
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“Shower Stalls… Additional show heads required… 20 stalls at $1,000 a piece… $80,000.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: Shower stalls at Home Depot can be purchased for as low as $163.71.]
Theseitemized expenses show the Obama administration spent nearly $200 million oftaxpayer funds to provide illegal alien children with the type of extravaganthigh-tech equipment and lavish benefits many American families cannot affordfor their own children. It was the Obama administration’s lawlessness thatresulted in an illegal alien surge in the first place that has cost taxpayershundreds of millions of dollars in 2014. In response to his new amnestyplan, we can expect tens of billions of dollars more in taxpayer costs for theresulting wave of illegal aliens trying to take advantage of Obama’sunilateral, illegal nullification of our nation’s immigration laws.
AsJudicial Watch considers its legal options against Obama’s lawless amnesty,which is already here, Congress is prepared to capitulateand fund the lawlessness. Senator Sessions discovered that the Obama gangis going to hire at least 1,000 new staff to implement his lawlessamnesty. Senator Sessions reported:
The Obama Administration is now opening a new USCIS facility inCrystal City, Virginia, for the purpose of immediately implementing thePresident’s imperial immigration decree. They are in the process of hiring1,000 full-time staff to quickly approve applications for the President’sillegal amnesty, which will provide work permits, photo IDs, Social Security,and Medicare to illegal immigrants–all benefits rejected by Congress. Thisaction will mean that American workers, their sons, their daughters, theirparents, will now have to compete directly for jobs, wages, and benefits withmillions of illegal immigrants.
This facility is a clear symbol of the President’s defiance ofthe American people, our laws, and our Constitution. He is hiring federalemployees to carry out a directive that violates the laws Congress has passedin order to foist on the nation laws Congress has repeatedly refused to pass.
ManyRepublicans are happy with Obama’s unilateral amnesty and are unwilling to taketough steps to defund his amnesty which, to be clear, changes the law in atyrannical way and prevents the deportation of virtually every illegalalien. I encourage you to call your members of Congress as often as ittakes to convey your thoughts on this issue. The number is 202-224-3121.Congress is happy to be complicit in this lawlessness if they think votersaren’t concerned. As I told Breitbart.com:
Any member of Congress who funds Obama’s lawlessness is complicitin it. Congress has a moral obligation to cut off funds for the president’soutlaw immigration policies. Anything short of a funding cut-off may makethe Washington establishment happy but is an affront to voters who knowbetter. Approving tax money for illegal amnesty and Obama’s abuse of powerwhile saying you’re against it sounds like a Gruber talking point. Thatthe idea of funding Obama’s amnesty is even being broached makes Republicanfulminations against Obama’s unconstitutional actions seem like a joke. Butvoters won’t be amused.
Weare continuing investigations and considering legal challenges no matter whatCongress does.
Aspart of our educational efforts about the rule of law and immigration, SenatorSessions made a special presentation at our headquarters in Washington DC on Monday, December 8. You can view the presentation on the Internet here.