On July 17, 2014, Mayor Stephanie Miner gave an interview where she wrote a letter to the president saying the city and its leaders welcome the chance to provide shelter to the children. She has requested the federal government expedite a potential shelter at a former convent that could house between 100 and 200 children and that leaders supported her decision. See link for full details: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3c42e65f65e148afa8dee1abe1995670/NY--Immigration-Overload-Syracuse

While it is deplorable that these children are in the situation they are in, and that we now have humanitarian crises, the federal government is not doing enough to discourage parents from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala from putting their children in danger and paying cartels and to transport their children to the U.S Texas border. To make matters worse, gang members, including S13 and S18 from these countries and Mexico are blending in with other children ranging from ages 12 to 17 and are recruiting them. Border patrol has accounted for several that have in fact admitted that they do belong to gangs, however because of the 2008 law and President Obama’s executive order that no child shall be turned away that comes here illegally until due process, border patrol and ICE cannot deport these gang members back to their countries until they are processed in court. This process is currently backlogged for several years and 90% of illegal immigrants do not show up for their court dates and simply go and blend in within our communities. This is just one of many links reporting this - http://www.inquisitr.com/1346537/ms-13-illegal-immigrants-in-deadly-gang-slated-for-release/

There is a request for 3.7 billion to handle this crises in congress and a bill sponsored by a democrat and a republican which would give authority to deport immediately based on discretion (each situation is different) by border patrol and in which the president supports both. Senate democrats are opposed to the bill but not are not against receiving the blank check for 3.7 billion dollars.

Tell Stephanie Miner, Mayor for Syracuse, NY that by allowing illegal children to be housed in Syracuse NY, she is putting our community at risk as we do not know which children, between the ages of 12 and 17 ½, are gang members, have criminal records in their countries, have committed robberies and murder, or have recruited other illegal immigrant children during their travels to the U.S. or while in the retention facilities in Texas. Syracuse has a history of gang violence and we cannot allow her actions, to potentially increase crimes in our communities, in our schools, and worse, recruiting of our very own children into gangs.

Tell Stephanie Miner that she was elected to represent the people of our communities and not just the ‘leaders’. Tell Stephanie Miner that we are not a Totalitarian country whereby elected officials make important decisions which affect our very communities, based on their own views, without holding meetings with the community.

Tell Stephanie Miner that we need to take care of our homeless, our poor, and our children in our schools first. In fact, the very facilities that she is recommending as housing could be used as recreation centers for our children to keep them off the streets, or as shelter for our homeless, or center for abused women and children, etc. Ask Stephanie Miner why is it that when it comes to our very citizens in our communities, we never have funds, yet she is willing to take our state, property, and school taxes and house, feed, and support illegal immigrants we know nothing about and which might be involved in gangs?

Tell Stephanie Miner that while we are diverse and have immigrants come through Syracuse, NY, our immigrants, even those from Sudan, come in LEGALLY and have been vetted out. Ask Stephanie Miner what is the ‘plan’ for these illegal immigrants from Central America and will she be replenishing the housing site with more illegal immigrants as those in the center leave? Or does she plan to continue housing illegal immigrants indefinitely, like a revolving door? Ask Stephanie Miner what plan does she have in place when property values go down further, residents move, and tax revenue goes down?

Tell Stephanie Miner that by going through with her plan, she is actually encouraging more illegal immigrants to flood the border once they hear that they will receive shelter, food, and benefits at the communities expense. In fact, for anyone that can read Spanish, I encourage you to go to these sites which are the news-links to these countries and hear it for yourself. Go back as far as May / June, as these countries promoted illegal immigration because they all thought that that the U.S. was giving out ‘permisos’ permission for women and children to stay in this country and NOT because of violence and crime as we were lead to believe. Direct publications from Central America for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala: http://www.laprensa.hn/inicio/729272-96/llenos-de-promesas-arriban-hondure%C3%B1os-deportados-de-estados-unidos, http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/elsalvad.htm AND http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/guatemal.htm Read the DEA’s leaked report and that of the United Nations (Google the following to obtain the official reports): 233856565-Leaked-EPIC-Document and TOC Central America and the Caribbean english