Vitter Says Administration Tried to Hide Number of Illegal-Immigrant Children in Louisiana

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said the Obama administration is concealing the number of unaccompanied alien children sent to his home state.

Vitter formally requested the information through the Department of Homeland Security on July 10, but had not received a response. So he went through an anonymous Immigrations and Customs Agency official to tally up the number of cases that had been opened for juveniles since the border crisis hit the headlines and added that to existing cases waiting for processing.

“I’ve been warning the administration for months that this would happen. Our borders go unsecured and our president does everything in his power to hinder Border Patrol, so an influx of illegal immigrants should come as no surprise,” Vitter said. “The administration is trying to hide the truth, but we know that there are at least 3215 cases in Louisiana. This is already a national crisis – it certainly shouldn’t become a Louisiana crisis too.”

The administration has also contacted military and other facilities in Louisiana to see if they can house some of the children, including a request to Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport, La., which has housed people left homeless by hurricanes. Hurricane season began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

Gov. Bobby Jindal fired off a letter to President Obama yesterday calling it “unacceptable” that DHS “considers posting information on a website as a legitimate notification mechanism of unaccompanied minors being placed in Louisiana.”

Jindal noted that it’s hurricane season and filling shelters with more than a thousand additional illegal immigrant children “gravely hampers” the ability of state and local governments to plan evacuations and shelter residents in the case of an emergency.

“Furthermore, the school year is about to start. The state has received no guidance or resources to ensure the education and healthcare for these children. As you know, the state is responsible for child safety and welfare, yet no information has been provided on the vetting process of potential sponsors,” he wrote.

“This crisis is a predictable one. It is happening because your administration has failed to secure our borders and enforce immigration laws, making our country a magnet for these migrants.”