Sending 57,000 kids back to their home country costs
From October 2013 to June 2014, more than 57,000 unaccompanied minors have migrated to the United States, most from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. One solution for dealing with these children is to send them back home, a plan both President Obama and congressional Republicans endorse.
But with that many kids and toddlers being juggled around the system, that simple-sounding solution could actually create an even bigger strain on resources.
“Money would help deal with the influx now,” says Esme Deprez, U.S Border Reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek. “We’re seeing shelters overwhelmed, we’re seeing processing centers that are run by border patrol agents completely overwhelmed, courts overwhelmed as well. The system is being stretched at every turn.”
The White House has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funds, but Deprez says there is not a lot of hope that Congress will act.
“They’re going on break for five weeks on July 31,” says Deprez. “So, even if they do pass separate bills in the House and Senate, we don’t know if they’re going to come to an agreement and reconcile the two.”
If Congress were to approve the emergency funds requested, it would include $879 million to pay for the minors’ prosecution, deportation and to help expedite their court hearings.
“The bulk of the money would go to care for the newly-arrived children and the shelters,” says Deprez.
Listen to the full conversation in the audio player above.
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