(WASHINGTON) - House Republicans unveiled a plan Wednesday to address the southern border crisis, recommending that the National Guard assist in humanitarian care of the influx of minors entering the country.
House Speaker John Boehner has already called on President Obama to implement the reserve military force, while Texas Gov. Rick Perry already made the decision on his own.
Both Boehner and Perry have not been shy about blaming the president's policies for inviting the influx of illegal immigrants, and both have stressed how the crisis has taxed both the U.S. Border Patrol and local municipalities that have been dealing with the tens of thousands of people coming across the border.
Following prompting, the president sent a team to Texas to evaluate whether deploying the National Guard would tackle the immigration issues, White House officials confirmed.
Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Texas), chairwoman of the House Working Group, announced the committee's solutions Wednesday.
'Our focus has been to ensure the safety of the children and it has remained a top priority throughout this process,' Granger said in a statement. 'In our personal meetings with the Presidents of Honduras and Guatemala they both stated that they wanted their children back, and we believe that is in the best interest of all the countries involved in this crisis. We look forward to working with these countries as they prepare to receive their children back.'
In addition to deploying the National Guard, the group suggested establishing an independent third-party commission to develop border security metrics, along with the creation of repatriation centers in other countries to secure the return of families and unaccompanied minors. Lawmakers also called for tougher penalties for individuals participating in the smuggling of children.
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Entities 0 Name: National Guard Count: 3 1 Name: House Count: 2 2 Name: Texas Count: 2 3 Name: Perry Count: 1 4 Name: Honduras Count: 1 5 Name: House Working Group Count: 1 6 Name: WASHINGTON Count: 1 7 Name: Rick Perry Count: 1 8 Name: John Boehner Count: 1 9 Name: Guatemala Count: 1 10 Name: U.S. Border Patrol Count: 1 11 Name: Kay Granger Count: 1 12 Name: Granger Count: 1 13 Name: Boehner Count: 1 14 Name: Obama Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/WFl3KO Title: Exclusive: Obama sends team to Texas to assess need for National Guard deployment Description: Credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts U.S. President Barack Obama speaks before signing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act at the White House in Washington July 22, 2014. The team, made up of officials from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, departed on Tuesday and will be on the ground through Thursday.
