This issue of immigration reform has been a major focus of President Obama's administration, particularly the children caught between borders. This week, one Utah representative expressed concern regarding the current state of illegal child immigration to the president.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is one of five governors who penned a letter to President Barack Obama Tuesday in which they express concerns with how the border crisis is being handled. Herbert, along with the governors of Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, signed the letter. They voiced concern over whether undocumented and unaccompanied children who are placed with sponsors or relatives are able to maintain appropriate contacts with the legal system.
The governors met with Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell during a recent meeting of the National Governors Association in Nashville, Tennessee. The governors said they were "concerned that there will be significant numbers who will end up using the public schools, social services and health systems largely funded by the states." In the letter they also said that, without a plan, the failure to return the accompanied children to their home countries will encourage more children to attempt the trek to the United States, putting them at risk for neglect and abuse.