Iowa’s governor does not want any unaccompanied children who’ve crossed into the U.S. along the southern border to be sent to Iowa.
“There’s been no contact from the federal government to the state of Iowa about housing children here,” Governor Terry Branstad says.
Governors of states like Nebraska and Oklahoma have expressed concern about dozens of the children from Central American countries who’ve been processed by the Border Patrol and then sent to their states. Branstad was asked this morning during his weekly news conference if he wanted any of those children sent to Iowa.
“No,” Branstad replied. “I just think the first thing we need to do is secure the border and I do have empathy for these kids…but I also don’t wnat to send the signal that: send your kids to America illegally. That’s not the right message.”
An Obama Administration official met with Branstad and other governors during a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville over the weekend. Branstad says governors want to do what they can to make sure residents in their states are kept informed.
“We have a delicate balance between being compassionate and supportive of children and at the same time believing in the rule of law and protecting the integrity of our border and to prevent dangerous and violent things from occuring,” Branstad told Iowa reporters today.
AUDIO of Branstad’s weekly news conference
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman says 200 children who entered the country illegally were sent to Nebraska last week without warning and federal officials are refusing to identify where they were sent in Nebraska. An Obama Administration official has said the children were placed with family members in Nebraska.