Thread: Brewer asks Obama about migrant drop-offs in Ariz.

Brewer asks Obama about migrant drop-offs in Ariz.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Border Patrol in Tucson said after three planes full of undocumented immigrants were flown from Texas to Arizona for processing, and sent to bus stations in Phoenix and Tucson, more could be coming as a thousand people are

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Republic | azcentral.com4:19 p.m. MST June 2, 2014


(Photo: The Arizona Republic)

In a letter sent today to President Barack Obama, Gov. Jan Brewer expressed deep concern over reports that scores of undocumented immigrants from Central America have been released at Greyhound bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix over the past several days after they were flown to Arizona from south Texas.

At the same time, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar has asked Rep. Darrell Issa -- chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee -- to investigate the policy.

READ: Brewer's letter to Obama
RELATED: Scores of undocumented migrants dropped off in Arizona

Last week, the U.S. Border Patrol in Tucson confirmed federal officials flew about 400 migrants -- many women and children -- apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Tucson to be processed. He said the migrants were flown to Arizona because the Border Patrol does not have enough manpower to handle a surge in illegal immigrants in south Texas.

The move has drawn criticism from both sides of the immigration debate. Brewer, who has long been at odds with Obama over illegal immigration issues, wrote that it is "especially disconcerting" that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security instituted the operation without notifying her office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety or the Arizona Department of Homeland Security.

She asked the Obama administration to provide information on the "unconscionable policy," including who authorized it and when, why Arizona is the "target," how many immigrants have been transported from other states and released in Arizona, what information does the federal government know about the immigrants, what steps are federal officials taking to set up emergency housing or detention space for the immigrants and what is being done to secure the border in Texas.

Arizona faces significant challenges stemming from Obama's failure to secure the border, Brewer wrote, adding that state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, health care providers and non-profits are "stretched to the breaking point attempting to manage the enormity of these challenges.

"By systematically transporting and releasing more illegal aliens into Arizona, your administration will exacerbate this problem," her two-page letter states. "This unwarranted operation is another disturbing example of a deliberate failure to enforce border security policies and repair a broken immigration system."

Brewer cited news reports that said the immigrants were dropped off at bus stations without food, water or other basic necessities.

"I remind you that the daytime temperatures in Arizona during this time of year are regularly more than 100 degrees," she wrote. "Consequently, this federal operation seems to place expediency over basic humanitarian concerns."

On Monday, Gosar told The Arizona Republic he spoke with Issa about calling hearings to examine the "disgraceful, outlandish and inhumane" policy, and determine why drop-offs are occurring.

"This is one of the classic trademarks of the Obama administration: they're doing something, then people find out on their own and then they're trying to say they do't really owe anybody any conversation about the practice of what they're doing," Gosar said. "This is disturbing. We need to have some understanding about who's authorization this ... where the policy came from and the inhumane application."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...rants/9884377/

Published June 03, 2014
FoxNews.com

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is urging President Obama to put a stop to the "dangerous and unconscionable" practice of shipping illegal immigrants out of Texas and dumping them in her state.

After reports first surfaced last week that scores of illegal immigrants in Texas were being flown, bused and then abandoned out of state in Arizona and elsewhere, Brewer sent a scathing letter to the president posing a string of questions about the policy.

Urging the president ultimately to end the program, Brewer complained her administration was never notified by the federal government and only learned about the practice from the media.

"This unwarranted operation is another disturbing example of a deliberate failure to enforce border security policies and repair a broken immigration system," she wrote.

Brewer, in her letter, voiced the concerns that both sides of the aisle have aired about the practice -- that it not only burdens states like Arizona but raises humanitarian concerns. She noted reports that many of those being released are women and children, and that they are being abandoned without food or water.

"I remind you that the daytime temperatures in Arizona during this time of year are regularly more than 100 degrees," she wrote. "Consequently, this federal operation seems to place expediency over basic humanitarian concerns."

Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., on Monday wrote to the leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee urging them to launch an official investigation into the practice.

The illegal immigrants in question come from Central America and have flooded into Texas via the Rio Grande Valley.

The number of apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley has shot up in recent years, with south Texas now the main gateway for illegal immigration along the southwest border with Mexico.

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley sector apprehended 154,453 immigrants last year -- up from 97,762 the previous year.

More shockingly, some say, is the unprecedented surge of children making the more than 1,000-mile journey from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border to escape violence in their home countries.

To that end, Obama on Monday described the surge in children crossing the border as an "urgent humanitarian situation," appointing FEMA head Craig Fugate to lead an effort addressing the crisis. The White House is also seeking an additional $1.4 billion from Congress to deal with the influx.

"This is a humanitarian crisis and it requires a humanitarian response," Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., told Reuters.

Most of the families apprehended so far in Texas have been flown to Arizona and dropped off by the busload at stations in Phoenix and Tucson. They've also been sent to New York and Maryland.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it does not want to lock up minors in detention centers or split up families.

Those sent to Arizona are expected to check in on their own once their deportation process nears completion in an honor system of sorts.

"After screening by DHS authorities, the family units will be released under supervision and required to report in to a local ICE office near their destination address within 15 days, where their cases will be managed in accordance with current ICE enforcement priorities," according to an ICE statement.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...grants-across/