Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal fired off a blistering letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday, saying he was shocked to learn this week that federal authorities have released 1,154 unaccompanied immigrant children to the care of sponsors living in Georgia.
The federal government placed them in Georgia during the first six months of this year, Deal wrote, as the Obama administration grappled with a surge of Central American children illegally crossing the southwest border.
Deal said his administration learned about the numbers of children coming to Georgia after following up on a conference call the nation’s governors had this week with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
“This came as a complete shock to me as the governor of this state,” Deal wrote. “I’m sure it will also shock the local communities around the state where these individuals currently reside. It is unconscionable that your administration failed to pick up the phone, email or send a letter to my office to inform us that these children were being sent to our communities.”
The White House responded by referring to an online federal Office of Refugee Resettlement report that shows Georgia ranks ninth among states for the number of unaccompanied children it has received this year. Texas ranks first with 4,280, followed by New York, 3,347; Florida, 3,181; California, 3,150; Virginia, 2,234; Maryland, 2,205; New Jersey, 1,504; and North Carolina, 1,191.
Other governors have spoken out on the issue. For example, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, wrote a similarly critical letter to Obama on Thursday, calling for more transparency on the issue. In contrast, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, spoke this month in favor of sheltering some of the children in his state, saying “this good nation is great when we open our doors and our hearts to needy children, and diminished when we don’t.”
Deal wrote he has also heard from state lawmakers in parts of Georgia where there has been a “surge in school enrollment of children from Central America.” Deal did not identify the lawmakers. But a spokesman for Deal said some represent parts of Whitfield County.
Many children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are crossing the southwest border on their own, fleeing deprivation and gang violence in their native countries. As of June 30 of this fiscal year, authorities have apprehended 57,525 unaccompanied children on the southwest border, up nearly 50 percent from all the previous fiscal year when the total was 38,759.
A 2008 law — signed by President George W. Bush — that is meant to protect the children from sex trafficking prevents the government from quickly deporting them. The law also requires immigration authorities to quickly turn them over to the care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the law, that agency is quickly transferring them to the care of sponsors — adult relatives or family friends — living in Georgia and other states while they go through deportation proceedings. Those proceedings can take months or even years to resolve because of huge court backlogs.
Republicans in Congress are calling for the 2008 law to be amended or scrapped so the children can be quickly sent back to their home countries. Democratic congressmen, faith leaders and immigrant rights activists say such changes could send the children back into harm’s way. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has asked Congress for $3.7 billion to help respond to the crisis and expedite deportation hearings involving children accompanied by their parents.
Deal also complained that the state has received a “disproportionate number of refugee placements over the past few years.” In his letter, Deal reminded Obama that his administration has raised such concerns in recent years.
“Your administration continues to send refugees to Georgia,” Deal said, “while at the same time many mayors and legislators from across the political spectrum have expressed their (and my) desire to rein in the influx of refugees to the state of Georgia. It is my hope that you and your administration will respect this request.”
Local refugee resettlement leaders said the unaccompanied children who are being apprehended on the southwest border and transferred to the care of sponsors in Georgia and other states do not have refugee status. They also denied Georgia has received a disproportionate share of refugees.
In the fiscal year ending in September, Georgia received 2,710 refugees from around the world. That is up 8 percent from the year before. But it is 810 fewer people than originally proposed by resettlement agencies. The U.S. State Department confirmed it limited the number coming to Georgia, based partly on the state’s requests.
Resettlement agencies have publicly highlighted the economic benefits refugees bring. The agencies say refugees create a net gain by working, creating businesses, paying taxes, and attracting more federal and private aid money than what the state and local governments spend on services.
“While Georgia is one of the top 10 refugee resettlement sites in the country, it is also one of the top 10 states for population,” said Paedia Mixon, executive director of Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta. “So the number of refugees that we take is in line with our general population. And every state in the country resettles refugees. That is a shared humanitarian responsibility across the country.”
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