For the past several weeks the United States has suffered an onslaught in illegal border crossings by children from mostly Central American countries. The reason for the sudden and dramatic surge has been attributed to the Obama administration and Congress’ inability to reach comprehensive immigration reform. In the meantime, a true humanitarian crisis is occurring on a scale that has been compared to the Katrina hurricane victim displacement. Only this time, the disaster was not caused by nature but by man.
The exact number of children who have crossed the U.S. border and are in federal custody has not been revealed by the Obama administration. Nor has a list been released which show where the children have been relocated to while being processed. But estimates have reached as high as 50,000 children are now being housed by the U.S. government. From warehouses to military bases, the Obama administration now finds itself running refugee camps on American soil.
The places where children are known to be housed are shrouded in an administrative cloak of secrecy. It has been reported by Foxnews.com that one such location, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, has enforced a confidentiality agreement with contracted medical staff at the base. A private firm, Baptist Family & Children’s Services, was hired by the government to provide care and security services for the refugee children. But workers have stated that the enforcement of rules are strict. Workers have reported to the media that they are stripped of all communication devices and if you are found in possession of a phone, you are immediately fired.
The reason for this enforcement was because of the health condition of the children. “There were several of us who wanted to talk about the camps, but the agents made it clear we would be arrested; we were under orders not to say anything,” a psychiatric counselor told Fox News.
Unidentified health care workers at the refugee camp have reported widespread lice infestations and scabies among the children and a great majority of these children have not received vaccinations which are common in the United States. But the way many of the children were sent to the camp is most alarming; they came in on chartered domestic planes and buses. This means, that if these planes and buses were not treated after transport, there is a possible public health concern.
