Thread: Louisiana - State, locals picking up tab for immigrant children

Mike Hasten, 7:25 p.m. CDT October 19, 2014

BATON ROUGE – Although all the unaccompanied children who illegally crossed the border into the United States and were brought to Louisiana are living with sponsors or family members, it's still costing the state and local governments millions of dollars in unexpected expenses to care for them.

A report to the members of the state House Select Committee on Homeland Security says 1,414 children of various ages up to 18 were brought to Louisiana between Jan. 1 and Aug 31. Almost all are from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The parents of these children reportedly sent them to the U.S. to escape crime, violence and human trafficking, primarily being forced into prostitution, said Mary Quaid, head of House Legislative Services, which prepared the report. Almost a quarter of the minors are younger than 14.

Two-thirds of the children brought to Louisiana are from Honduras, said David Aguillard, executive director of Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge. Their ages range from 7 months to 18 years.

Aguillard said he is often asked "'What kind of parent would do that?' I turn it around by asking 'What kind of parent would not?'" when his child is threatened. "I think, in south Louisiana, we can find a place in our hearts" for them.

One of the larger expenses is providing education and "states are not allowed to withhold funds" for educating illegal immigrants, Quaid said.

All children, regardless of whether they are legally in the country, must be provided the opportunity of free public education, according to federal law. State law requires that all school-age children, regardless of residency status, must attend school, starting in kindergarten.

An early estimate of the cost so far for educating Louisiana's illegal immigrant children was $7 million, but it has been upgraded to $10 million.

The state Department of Education said in a report that school systems might have to absorb those costs in their current budgets.

"While Louisiana receives federal funds to support Limited English Proficient students, the state is not anticipating any increased federal funds for unaccompanied immigrant children in the 2014-2015 school year. The Department is examining if funds not yet allocated by the state are available within the existing federal Title III, English Language Learner program in order to assist these districts in serving these students."

The majority of the students are in the Lafayette, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Orleans and St. Tammany school systems with 289 others spread out across the state.

Several parishes, including Lafayette, reported to the state department even more non-English-speaking children enrolling in schools than in the Aug. 31 report by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services.

The Lafayette Parish School System reported Oct. 1 that 107 unaccompanied children, not 54 as in the federal report, were enrolled in its schools.

The system indicated to the state that to educate these additional students, it hired one new English as a Second Language teacher for a new program at the Career Center and plans to hire seven additional ESL teachers and seven additional bilingual assistants. Also, the district plans to open a new elementary ESL program for grades K-5.

Lafayette school officials did not submit an estimated cost for the additional teachers and programs.

But East Baton Rouge, which has 289 of the unaccompanied children in its system, estimates it will cost $948,137 to hire seven ESL teachers, one regular teacher and seven assistants. The cost includes $21,000 for translations and other supplies.

Jefferson Parish, which at last count had the largest number of immigrant children of any parish at 533, reported it will hire 27 new ESL teachers, 20 new ESL para-educators, 19 regular education teachers and three special education teachers at a cost of $4.6 million.

While at school, the students are eligible for the free and reduced lunch program and supplies to help them learn.

The older immigrants are eligible to attend state universities, if they qualify, but are not eligible for federal financial aid or the state TOPS scholarship program because those have residency requirements. Colleges and universities cannot offer assistance that would not be offered to any resident student.

The state Department of Health and Hospitals reported it has spent $1.15 million for emergency health care provided to the immigrants and $3.47 million in the LACHIP (Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program) for younger children.

Hospital emergency care for uninsured patients and LACHIP are largely federally funded but the state has to put up matching funds, Quaid said.

Federal law prohibits participation in the food stamp, cash assistance, Medicaid and housing assistance programs by people who are illegally in the country.

Courts around the state also will see additional expense because each child who was relocated must have a hearing to determine if a threat actually existed and whether they should be returned or a visa should be granted.

State Police Col. Mike Edmonson said police officers can stop illegal immigrants for questioning but they cannot arrest them for living illegally in the country. He said they're held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine their status.

If they've committed a crime or a traffic offense, however, they are subject to the same criminal statutes as anyone.

Thomas Bickham of the state Department of Corrections said 354 non-citizens are currently in local jails and state prisons, 30 of whom are serving life sentences. About half are serving time for violent crimes, 20 percent for drugs and 20 percent for property crimes,

Another 802 more are on probation or parole, he said. More than half of the 802 are being turned over to ICE.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, told the panel that the nation's "relatively porous border" is responsible for the flood of people into the country. He said Border Patrol should have "quick deportations, not relocations."

Vitter acknowledged that it has been a "long-time problem" and presidents of both political parties have failed to seal the border.

"It's not a manpower issue," he said. "It's a political will issue."

http://www.dailyworld.com/story/news...dren/17588817/

Originally Posted by Jean

"It's not a manpower issue," he said. "It's a political will issue."

Ok, how about this:

Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade

dailyworld quotes

BATON ROUGE – Although all the unaccompanied children who illegally crossed the border into the United States and were brought to Louisiana are living with sponsors or family members, it's still costing the state and local governments millions of dollars in unexpected expenses to care for them.

redistribution continues

If people are dumb enough to pay for the Illegal Alien / Democrat Crime Spree then they and their children deserve to be dirt broke