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Dear
Friend,
As
most
folks
across
East
Alabama
have
seen
on
the
news
lately,
there’s
a
serious
immigration
crisis
at
our
Southwest
border,
and
so
far
it
doesn’t
look
like
the
Federal
government
has
control
of
the
situation.
There
is
a
flood
of
unaccompanied
minors
illegally
crossing
our
borders. The
Department
of
Homeland
Security
estimates
over
90,000
children
will
cross
our
border
in
2014,
and
over
160,000
children
are
expected
to
cross
in
2015.
Last
month,
I
sent
a
letter
to
President
Obama
asking
him
to
deploy
the
National
Guard
to
the
Southwest
border
to
help
deal
with
this
crisis. The
Border
Patrol
agents
on
the
ground
are
overwhelmed
and
understaffed
to
deal
with
the
number
of
children
that
are
flooding
into
America.
In
a
recent
Homeland
Security
Committee
hearing
on
this
crisis,
I asked
Secretary
of
Homeland
Security
Jeh
Johnson
what
could
be
done
to
expedite
returning
these
children
to
family
members
in
their
own
countries
the
same
way
we
expedite
returns
for
many
adults.
But
Secretary
Johnson
didn’t
have
any
answers.
This
immigration
crisis
is,
I
believe,
a
direct
result
of
the
Obama
Administration
refusing
to
enforce
the
immigration
laws
on
the
books. I
asked
participants
in
a
Tele-town
Hall
meeting
who
they
thought
was
to
blame
for
the
crisis
and
90
percent
of
those
who
participated
in
the
poll
agreed
with
me
that
it
is
the
president
to
blame.
On
top
of
this, I
also
learned
recently
that
the
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services,
the
Federal
agency
tasked
with
handling
the
illegal
immigrant
children
after
they
are
apprehended,
was
looking
at
possibly
housing
detainees
at
the
Center
for
Domestic
Preparedness
(CDP)
in
Calhoun
County.
Why
would
HHS
transport
the
unaccompanied
minors
over
900
miles
to
Alabama?
It
just
doesn’t
make
sense
and
I
strongly
opposed
-
and
continue
to
strongly
oppose
-
this
misguided
and
misinformed
proposal.
When
the
relocation
plan
came
to
light,
I wrote
HHS
Secretary
Burwell
and
DHS
Secretary
Johnson
demanding
answers
on
why
the
CDP
was
even
being
considered.
While
they
pulled
the
option
off
the
table,
I
still
want
answers
as
to
why
this
plan
was
ever
considered
over
returning
these
children
to
their
homes
as
quickly
as
possible.
President
Obama
has
asked
Congress
for
$3.7
billion
to
deal
with
this
crisis.
Frankly,
I
don’t
think
it
would
do
much
to
secure
our
borders
or
help
resolve
this
crisis
as
long
as
the
president
refuses
to
enforce
our
existing
immigration
laws.
As
a
sovereign
country,
we
must
enforce
our
rule
of
law. I
will
continue
to
follow
this
situation
closely
and
will
continue
to
fight
for
our
current
immigration
laws
to
be
enforced.
As
always,
my
staff
and
I
are
here
to
serve
you.
Sincerely,
Mike
Rogers
Alabama’s
Third
District
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