Immigration Reform News & Laws 2014: Homeland Security to Discuss All Legal Options
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Tuesday told Congress that his department would "consider every conceivable, lawful option" to deal with the rush of illegal immigration in South Texas, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Such immigration has gotten to the point that President Barack Obama earlier this month called it a "humanitarian situation," reported NBC News.
Since October, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 91,000 people crossing the Mexican border, 52,000 of which are children, AP reported. Most of the immigrants are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and were caught in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Johnson told the House Homeland Security Committee that the department could use National Guard troops to help corral the situation, but the White House said Tuesday that troops likely wouldn't be deployed.
"There has already been a historic commitment of resources to the border," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told AP.
Homeland Security does plan to add 115 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in south Texas and could add up to 150 more Border Patrol agents to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants, NBC News reported.
Johnson also told Congress that he is adding 60 investigators and support personnel in San Antonio and Houston to help eliminate smuggling organizations that are bringing children and families across the border.
Those additions to border protection units will help catch people crossing into the U.S., but finding a place to take them, especially the children, is troubling. U.S. law states that children who come from countries other than Mexico must be held in the U.S. until they can be reunited with family, guardians or sponsors while they await deportation or asylum hearings, NBC News reported.
Homeland Security Commission Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, said the situation was a refugee crisis that has been years in the making, according to NBC News.
In addition to efforts by the Department of Homeland Security, the Obama Administration last week announced plans to open extra detention centers for families and House Speaker John Boehner announced the formation of a group of lawmakers who will focus on border issues, AP reported.