Jeh Johnson Noncommittal on Child Migrants

Wall Street Journal: 

By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa

July 6, 2014

Jeh Johnson Noncommittal on Child Migrants 

The Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security declined Sunday to say whether most of the children who have arrived in the U.S. illegally following a recent surge of border crossings by Central American migrants likely would be deported or allowed to stay.

His comments reflect an uncomfortable reality: While the Obama administration is trying to tell Central Americans not to send their children on the perilous journey north, U.S. law and backlogged immigration courts mean many of these children likely will be allowed to stay for years or even permanently.

President Barack Obama is seeking more than $2 billion to respond to the rapid rise in border crossings, and has requested new authority to return them home faster. But asked repeatedly on NBC if most of the minors who recently have been detained would be deported, Secretary Jeh Johnson remained noncommittal.

"We are looking at ways to create additional options for dealing with the children in particular consistent with our laws and our values," he said. He didn't specify what he meant, but the White House has said it would seek authority for faster deportation of children arriving alone from Central America. "There's a deportation proceeding that is commenced against illegal migrants, including children."

Mr. Johnson said lack of action on immigration from Congress could force the administration to act unilaterally. "There are a number of things that the president and I, within the confines of existing law, can do to fix the broken immigration system," he said.

The administration has said it is considering new executive actions to ease the crisis as the legislative debate drags on, but has provided few details. Mr. Obama on Friday again urged lawmakers to "fix our broken immigration system."

Prospects for any overhaul legislation, however, have all but dissipated in Congress. Lawmakers continue to disagree about long-term measures to revamp immigration rules, including what to do with the millions of undocumented migrants already living in the U.S.

U.S. law requires children from Central America be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services, which places them with sponsors in the U.S.—usually family—while deportation cases are heard. The influx of minors, many without their parents, has deepened the political divide on an issue that could be key in congressional elections this fall.

A Democratic congressman from a Texas district bordering Mexico criticized the Obama administration Sunday on CNN. "With all due respect to the administration, they're one step behind," said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). "They should have seen this coming a long time ago."

Congressional Republicans have chastised the president for not being tough enough on illegal immigration, arguing his policies indirectly encourage illegal crossings.

Texas Governor Rick Perry echoed that message Sunday on ABC. "This is a failure of diplomacy, it is a failure of the leadership from the administration in Washington, D.C."

Last week, protesters blocked three buses carrying 140 undocumented migrants sent from Texas to a U.S. Border Patrol station in Murrieta, Calif., where they were to be processed before being sent to other locations to await deportation or asylum, federal officials said.

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