Secretary of Homeland Security visiting Texas
WASHINGTON (KTRK) -- Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and senior officials from the White House, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Health and Human Services, are in to Texas to tour detention center that are housing thousands of illegal unaccompanied minors.
The group is visiting U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities and San Antonio-Lackland Airforce Base. After repeated request for Sec. Johnson's tour schedule, his press office has declined to give any information about the visit and said the tour will be closed to the media.
In recent months, more than 47,000 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have entered illegally. It has overwhelmed boarder patrol and state resources to care and house them while they go through the immigration process. Some of those kids have been shipped to other states.
"We are the United States of America," said San Antonio resident Leticia Alvarez. "We do provide help to other countries, not only during times of war, but times of need such as basic needs that the children are needing at this time."
The announcement comes one day after Texas Governor Rick Perry and other top Republican leaders announced the state would spend an extra $1.3 million a week ramping up patrols along the border with Mexico.
"We have a lot of family that's from Mexico. We definitely have done it the right way where you get your paperwork in order , your visas , then you come in to the United States. And do it legally," said San Antonio resident Stephanie Marquez.
This humanitarian disaster has turned political lots of finger pointing. Governor Rick Perry is lashing out at the federal government and demanding help, saying this is their responsibility.
"It's a complicated problem down there. Not just the immigration but the crime as well. And it is a federal responsibility, but Texas has a responsibility to keep our citizen safe and that's what we're trying to do," said Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
Governor Rick Perry's press office told eyewitness news the Governor will not be meeting with Sec. Johnson during his Texas tour, but said the two spoke over the phone yesterday. Details of that conversation were not made available.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
