Undocumented immigrant minors may be able to postpone or even avoid deportation from the United States altogether thanks to the White House. The Obama administration has its eyes on making use of the state of Alabama, which according to proposals would be the place to which undocumented minors from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are sent, rather than having to resort to housing them in prison-like detention facilities.
The plans are fuelling rumors that the White House might soon use other states to host unaccompanied immigrant minors from the likes of Mexico, though it is the Northern Triangle that has sent over 240,000 immigrant minors to the United States due to the level of violence there, the American Immigration Council states. However, the Obama administration’s plans have already been met with a considerable amount of skepticism and resistance.
Alabama officials including Senator Richard Shelby are utterly opposed to the idea, with Shelby having recently used social media site Twitter to express his worries over the idea. His comment was followed by a full statement in which he accused President Barack Obama of again demonstrating his “blatant disregard” for the nation’s immigration laws and declaring that he will fight any attempt to house undocumented immigrant minors at military installations in Alabama.
Shelby’s words seem harsher toward the President than the immigrants themselves, and his views have been echoed by other state officials including Governor Robert Bentley, whose primary concern is what he sees as federal interference with state affairs.