Noted investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson recently spoke with FAIR’s president, Dan Stein, about the secretive reactions of the federal government to the border crisis.
During the news segment Attkisson explains:
The government has abruptly shut down operations at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and two other military bases that sheltered more than 7,700 minors the government refers to as “unaccompanied alien children.” Thousands have been transferred to 150 shelters around the country, mostly group homes run by non-profits. But try to find out exactly where-and the government won’t answer, not the public or reporters, not even members of Congress.
Earlier this week, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana told the Laura Ingraham Show that neither he nor any social service agency in the state were notified when 1,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) were placed in the New Orleans area. Breitbart News reports:
“In my state, the Obama administration sent over a thousand children without telling us, without telling social services, without telling the schools” he said on Wednesday’s “Laura Ingraham Show.”
Jindal added that Jefferson Parrish was “literally having to hire more and more teachers that speak Spanish, they’re thinking about having to offer bonuses and stipends.
Jindal isn’t alone. Elected officials around the country have publicly stated that federal government was not forthcoming with information, which presents problems for education and social services programs.
Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Arizona explained his concerns that some minors might have gang affiliations when he spoke to CNN back in July:
I believe the public has a right to know. I would rather err on that side, rather than to be secretive, as this whole operation was initially done. My question to Homeland Security was, ‘Give us a sense of the profile of these individuals.’ If you’re going to send unaccompanied juveniles to another state in another jurisdiction, there’s legitimate concern that other members of this community have about public safety and public health. Give us the information.
Local communities are only just beginning to feel the effects of government’s secret actions this summer. With a new academic year starting, public school districts are struggling to absorb hundreds and sometimes thousands of illegal alien minors into already taxed systems. Additionally, health concerns emerged after the Virginia Department of Education announced they were waiving immunization requirements for any of the 2,856 UACs released into the state who enroll in Virginia K-12 schools.
FAIR’s Dan Stein sums up the situation with this statement from report by Attkisson:
“It’s outrageous,” responded Stein. “Now this administration is telling the American people, and Congress, we’re not even entitled to know where these people are, where they’re being held, what communities are going to be impacted.”
More of Dan Stein’s comments can be seen in the report from Sharyl Attkisson. The video initially ran on San Antonio’s Fox 29 on the evening of Thursday, August 28. It will air over additional TV stations throughout the next few days.