GOP is looking to Change Law That is Holding Up the Deportation of Young ILLEGALS from Central America

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday called for a change in law so that many children crossing the U.S. border could be deported more quickly, and some said the change should be a condition of approving President Barack Obama's request for $3.7 billion to stem a surge in minors entering the country.

A group appointed by House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) as well as some rank-and-file Republicans said they would push to revise a 2008 law when considering Mr. Obama's funding request to address what he has called an "urgent humanitarian situation" on the border. The president has asked for more flexibility with the law, and on Wednesday, he suggested the changes be included in the emergency spending bill.

"If we're going to allow money to go to solve the current crisis, we've got to make some policy changes to make sure it doesn't recur," said Rep. Joe Heck (R., Nev.). "The president should move forward with his request for the change in the law that allows more expeditious return."

But some Democrats are wary of the change and said the border situation couldn't be quickly resolved just by turning away migrants. "It's very clear that many of these children and families are fleeing violence, and to send them back could mean to send them back into a harmful or potentially deadly situation," said Rep. Beto O'Rourke, one of five Texas Democrats who represent districts on the border with Mexico.

[...]

The 2008 law, signed by President George W. Bush, aimed to protect children from human trafficking. It requires that migrant children other than those from Mexico and Canada be placed with sponsors in the U.S. while waiting for a court to hear their deportation cases—waits that can extend for years.

The group set up by Mr. Boehner to review the border crisis said in its statement Wednesday that the children should be "returned to their home countries in the most humane way possible," which would require "a revision" to the 2008 law. In a closed-door conference of House Republicans, Mr. Boehner said Wednesday he hoped to deal with the border crisis before Congress's August break, a GOP aide said.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.