Thread: Branstad doesn’t want kids who crossed US/Mexico border sent to Iowa

Branstad doesn’t want kids who crossed US/Mexico border sent to Iowa (AUDIO)
July 14, 2014 By O. Kay Henderson

Iowa’s governor does not want any unaccompanied children who’ve crossed into the U.S. along the southern border to be sent to Iowa.

“There’s been no contact from the federal government to the state of Iowa about housing children here,” Governor Terry Branstad says.

Governors of states like Nebraska and Oklahoma have expressed concern about dozens of the children from Central American countries who’ve been processed by the Border Patrol and then sent to their states. Branstad was asked this morning during his weekly news conference if he wanted any of those children sent to Iowa.

“No,” Branstad replied. “I just think the first thing we need to do is secure the border and I do have empathy for these kids…but I also don’t wnat to send the signal that: send your kids to America illegally.

That’s not the right message.”

An Obama Administration official met with Branstad and other governors during a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville over the weekend. Branstad says governors want to do what they can to make sure residents in their states are kept informed.

“We have a delicate balance between being compassionate and supportive of children and at the same time believing in the rule of law and protecting the integrity of our border and to prevent dangerous and violent things from occuring,” Branstad told Iowa reporters today.

AUDIO of Branstad’s weekly news conference

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman says 200 children who entered the country illegally were sent to Nebraska last week without warning and federal officials are refusing to identify where they were sent in Nebraska. An Obama Administration official has said the children were placed with family members in Nebraska.

http://www.radioiowa.com/2014/07/14/...to-iowa-audio/

There are many of us in Texas that do not want them in our state either, for the same reason! It is/was the respoonsibility of the federal government to defend our border, and they have done a very inadequate job of it for the time I ave lived here.

I would encourage a lawsuit!

Send them home. Secure the border and enforce current immigration laws.

July 14, 2014 1:23 PM


Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad speaks at the annual Ronald Reagan Commemorative Dinner on Oct. 25, 2013 in Des Moines, Iowa. (credit: Steve Pope/Getty Images)

DES MOINES, Iowa (CBSDC/AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday that he does not want Iowa to host any of the thousands of children from Central America who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone.

During a news conference, Branstad said he was not aware of any of the children currently living in Iowa and that state has not been contacted by the federal government about housing any immigrant children. He said the government’s focus should be on securing the borders.

“The first thing we need to do is secure the border. I do have empathy for these kids,” Branstad said. “But I also don’t want to send the signal that (you) send your kids to America illegally. That’s not the right message.”

Branstad was among a group of governors that met Sunday with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell as the Obama administration sought support from states that could host the children.

Under current law, immigrant children from countries that do not border the United States and who cross into the U.S. by themselves are turned over to federal authorities. Then, they often are reunited with parents or placed with other relatives already living here while they wait for an immigration court to decide their future. The court process can take years.

Branstad was critical Sunday of the fact that there is no review of the immigration status of relatives who take custody of the children.

Since Oct. 1, more than 57,000 children have crossed the border. Most are from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala.

President Barack Obama has vowed to use executive actions in an effort to help fix the immigration system.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/...n-in-my-state/