Yesterday on the Jon Justice show, at 104.1FM KQTH, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) came on to discuss his new introduced amendment and border security. Sen. Flake said, “The best thing we can do on a humanitarian basis is to convince the parents and relatives not to submit their children to this ordeal.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) yesterday, introduced legislation that would amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to allow for the expedited removal of unaccompanied minors who have illegally entered the United States. The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), David Vitter (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Inhofe (R-OK), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John Boozeman (R-AR), and Richard Burr (R-NC).
The legislation filed as an amendment to S. 2363, the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act, would put the treatment of unaccompanied alien children entering the United States from noncontiguous countries, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador on par with those entering illegally from Mexico and Canada.
As it is now, children from these Central American countries must be resettled then go through a court hearing in which case many are lost in the transitioning and never show up for court. This is exponentially increasing the amount of illegal immigrants in the shadows.
President Obama has proposed a new bill for funding, but Sen. Flake says it sends the wrong message saying “My concern with this budget proposal… 1.8 billion the vast majority of that which has been requested. The requested was 3.7 billion total 600 million of which is fire suppression funds which is unrelated. So if you take anything related to immigration more than two-thirds of it is going to HHS who’s only role is to warehouse then settle these children in the United States. So that is my big concern that this does become the new normal and because that message travels back immediately to these countries it not just the new normal, but the new normal exaggerated.”
“The president has said these children, the overwhelming majority won’t be able to stay, but the proposal he sent to Congress… Is money for HHS,” Flake added.
When Jon asked Sen. Flake about Obama’s response to the situation Flake was gracious in saying, “I think he was just caught flat footed… I assume he is trying to solve this problem and I know we all want it solved.”
“I can tell you we do the right thing with kids. This country has a big heart… If we send the signal this worked; the child will be resettled in the United States we simply encourage more.”
“The federal government will only stem the flow of unaccompanied minors to the United States when their parents see us sending them right back,” said Flake. “This legislation gives the administration the flexibility that it has requested so it can begin to do just that.”
Senator Flake is preparing to get bipartisan support to add his amendment on to the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act.