Spokesman: No Knowledge of Plans to House Border Children in NH

While Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is considering a request from President Barack Obama and the federal government to take in some of children from Central America that are flooding over the southern border of the United States, a spokesman for Gov. Maggie Hassan said he had no knowledge of the state making plans to assist in the crisis.

William Hinkle, press secretary for the governor, did confirm that some state agencies are participating in national calls about the crisis on the border.

The governor’s office remains “in contact” with the agencies, which include the National Guard, Emergency Management, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Corrections, organizations that are also being briefed about the situation.

“We are not aware of any plans for the state to provide housing support for the surge of children crossing the border,” Hinkle said in an email.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department has reported that more than 357,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants have crossed over the border during the last nine months, about 50,000 of them children. Between October 2012 and October 2013, more than 57,000 children under the age of 17 were apprehended at the border. During the same time period, 40,000 more families units were apprehended at the border than the previous fiscal year, a nearly 500 percent increase.

The children are being housed Arizona, California, and Texas, and are being met by protesters while being shuffled around as the government decides what action to take.

The president has called the situation an “urgent humanitarian crisis,” while grappling with Congress over how to address the situation. He has requested billions in new funds to tackle the problems and provide aid for the children. Some Republicans blame the president for the crisis due to the acceleration of an amnesty plan instead of enforcing current immigration laws as well as the promotion of “dream act” policies that grant free services to illegal immigrants. Other Republicans support new immigration legislation to tackle the problems on the border.

The Boston Herald recently reported that there had been several secret flights of illegal immigrants into the state of Massachusetts during the last few weeks. They are currently being housed in detention centers around New England, as part of an agreement between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local sheriffs, according to press reports. New Hampshire officials were reportedly in Massachusetts recently to meet with officials there to discuss the problems.

Patrick was reportedly in the Granite State yesterday, on an unrelated matter, according to press reports.