117 unaccompanied minors who crossed the US-Mexico border illegally have been placed with families in Delaware.
Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) broke the news to state lawmakers in a letter Thursday, writing, “We are called upon to provide for the least of our brothers and sisters.”
More than 57,000 of these children have entered the country since October 2013, with three-quarters of them coming from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras according to federal officials.
The federal government previously approached Markell about housing children in state facilities, but he says Delaware instead relies on foster care to meet the needs of most in-state kids.
“We have a limited number of licensed residential facilities, and those facilities generally operate at or close to capacity,” wrote Markell.
House Minority Leader Danny Short (R-Seaford) says he had heard rumors about children being placed with families in Sussex County and called the governor’s office for confirmation.
Short says the feds didn’t immediately respond. He notes that onus is on federal officials to better inform states of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, especially when it directly involves them.
“Someone had to make a decision to allow that to happen and I think that that person, or someone within the hierarchy of the federal government knows that they should’ve picked the phone up and at least called Gov. Markell’s office and said, ‘Look, I’m going to tell you what’s going on and tell you where we are,’” said Short.
Markell noted that nonprofits will work with the state if the kids’ basic needs aren’t met.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services says it will not bankroll any costs associated with food, clothing or education, something Short says is their responsibility to pay for.
“If they’re here and they are a burden on these nonprofits, they’re not obviously wards of the state. So these nonprofits need to be kept whole, because otherwise, those services are not being provided to people that they originally intended them to be provided for,” said Short.
Markell agrees with him.
In the letter, he says “I am asking federal officials to work with states to cover those costs and ensure that these children receive appropriate care.”