Lawmakers are slamming New York City's push to house illegal immigrants in public schools, saying the Biden administration is punishing children for its own failure to control the southern border.
Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) and Brandon Williams (N.Y.) on Wednesday introduced a resolution condemning New York City mayor Eric Adams for moving to shelter illegal aliens in school facilities. Adams, the resolution says, is impeding "children’s access to safe recreation and physical education" in order to clean up the Biden administration’s border mess.
"The school children in the United States should not pay for the disastrous immigration policies of either the Biden administration or local leaders," the resolution, an advance copy of which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, states.
The condemnation comes as leaders struggle to meet the influx of illegal immigrants entering the country following the end of Title 42, a public health order that restricted immigration. Adams came under fire earlier this month when he announced that he would expand New York’s immigrant housing program over parental objections. Chicago is reportedly considering a similar proposal.
Most of the illegal migrants entering the United States have not been properly screened for criminal ties, and could be linked to violent gangs and even terror groups.
"Turning schools into housing centers for such aliens compromises schools’ duty to educate enrolled children and keep them safe," the House resolution states. "Hosting such aliens on school campuses poses a significant safety risk to school children and compromises schools’ ability to secure their own campus."
The resolution is likely to garner broad support in the House, where Republican legislators have been working to counter the Biden administration’s border policies. As the influx of illegal aliens strains city resources across the country, House Republicans are intervening early to signal their disapproval.
"The Biden administration has created these problems with a failed border security strategy that has encouraged illegal aliens to cross the border," the resolution states. More than 10,000 aliens illegally entered the country each day throughout April and May, prior to the expiration of Title 42, an executive order that significantly tightened border security.
Border Patrol agents reported 162,317 migrant encounters in March alone, an increase of 32,000 migrants from the month prior. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it encountered a record 152,000 unaccompanied children in 2022, and 324,000 in the last 26 months.
Around 60 percent of the illegal minor aliens in America are being sold into slavery and forced to work, including in the sex industry, the Free Beacon reported last week.
Terrorists also have taken advantage of the country’s open borders, with Customs and Border Patrol detaining 38 individuals on the terror watchlist in just the first three months of fiscal year 2022—a figure that eclipses the totals for the past five years combined. At least 100 individuals on the terror watchlist are expected to be apprehended over the course of the year.