The National Guard’s new mission statement includes operating daycare centers….
Via WISTV:
Only two states say their National Guard operations could provide facilities to house unaccompanied immigrant children following a request for options from the government.
California and Virginia told the National Guard Bureau they have facilities that could be used but they would require additional funding if asked to meet federal requirements.
Other states responding to the National Guard Bureau’s request late last month say they aren’t set up to handle that kind of housing or they lack the proper facilities.
Ohio also voiced concern about the government’s oversight of the program, pointing to a case of labor trafficking at a large egg farm in the state earlier this year.
The “government has attempted to increase capacity and push people through the system too quickly causing unintended consequences,” Ohio Adj. Gen. Mark Bartman said in the state response obtained by The Associated Press.
Bartman said he and Gov. John Kasich have concerns about the government’s ability to safely handle the increased number of children in refugee resettlement programs.
Kasich, a Republican candidate for president, raised similar issues in an August letter to President Barack Obama. Among his concerns was a lack of information shared with the state about children settled in Ohio.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican running for re-election, has pushed for an investigation into the way the government screens sponsors getting custody of unaccompanied children.
The government says about 1,100 children have been released to sponsors in Ohio’s Franklin, Hamilton and Tuscarawas counties.
A total of 10,588 unaccompanied children crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in October and November, compared with 5,129 who crossed during the same two months last year, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.