Feds say they will discourage child immigration

Associated Press

NOGALES, Ariz.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned Central American families on Wednesday that “there is no free pass” in the U.S. immigration system after touring an Arizona facility holding hundreds of children apprehended at the border in recent weeks.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who has long been a staunch critic of the Obama administration’s immigration policies, toured the converted warehouse in Nogales with Johnson and declared that the government is not doing its job in stifling the overwhelming surge in children illegally migrating to the U.S.

“Dang it, the federal government has got a job to do,” she said. Asked whether the state should provide resources during what many say is a humanitarian crisis, Brewer said only that the federal government has made it clear she does not have any authority in addressing illegal immigration. Brewer was referring to a federal lawsuit against Arizona after Brewer signed into law the sweeping immigration bill known as SB 1070.

Thousands of Central American families and unaccompanied children have been coming to the U.S. in recent months as they flee violence, murders and extortion from criminal gangs in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Many of them are under the impression that they will receive leniency from U.S. authorities once they get here.

“I want to continue to emphasize to all those who are listening, including the parents of kids, parents that may be considering sending their kid from Central America, that this journey is a dangerous one and at the end of it there is no free pass, there is no ‘permisos’ for your children to come to the United States,” Johnson said.

But though Johnson has vowed to spread his message, Brewer says the federal government is not doing enough to stop the migration.

About 900 children are being held in the Nogales facility where they are processed and then turned over to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while undergoing removal proceedings.