The Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) is a United States federal law that grants the public access to information possessed
by government agencies. Upon written request, U.S. government agencies are
required to release information unless it falls under one of nine
exemptions listed in the Act.
The Associated Press through reviewed
federal data found that the government is placing children found stranded on
the border with adults who are in the country illegally. It was stated that
this has been going on since the year 2014. They made no comment how often the
adults in question has legal papers. Of course the children are placed with
family or friends of the family but that doesn’t really clear the air. All of
the information was able to be pertained because of the Freedom of Information
Act.
“In response to a Freedom of Information Act
request, the Department of Health and Human Services provided data showing that
80 percent of the 71,000 mostly Central American children placed between
February 2014 and September 2015 were sent to sponsors who were not here
legally.”
Out of the children 6 percent were placed
with adults who had temporary protected status, a U.S. government program that
has let some Central American citizen’s stay and work in the country legally
for more than a decade. Four percent were sponsored by American citizens and 1
percent by immigrants facing deportation proceedings. Many of the children were
placed with sponsors who had some form of legal status or who have filed
immigration applications.
It was stated that Immigration status is not
a factor in determining whether someone can sponsor a child, which I believe is
true. But sponsors are asked their status, and those in the country illegally
must provide a backup plan to care for the children if they are deported.
During the 20-month period covered by the data, more than half of
unaccompanied children were released to a parent. Many others were placed with
siblings, aunts and uncles.
Potential sponsors must provide proof of identity and their relationship
to the child and undergo screening and background checks. In some cases, the
department's Office of Refugee Resettlement conducts a home study to determine
if the placement is safe.
The office has collected information about
sponsors' immigration status since at least 2005, the Department of Health and
Human Services said in a statement. Sponsors who are not the children's parents
also are fingerprinted.
The statistics were culled from a database
created in January 2014, according to the department.
It’s important
for us as American to know when things like this are happening in our country. That’s
why the Freedom of Information Act is so important.
No comments:
Post a Comment