Rick Perry: Border Crisis a 'Failure of Leadership
The politics over immigration is coming to a head in Texas as President Barack Obama meets with his chief critic, Gov. Rick Perry, as well as faith leaders and other state officials to discuss the crisis.
Perry, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, has blasted the White House for its failure to respond to his warnings about the flood of immigrant children across the U.S.-Mexico border.
"This is a failure of diplomacy," he charged. "It is a failure of leadership from the administration in Washington, D.C."
The administration also has to contend with backlash from communities that want no part in temporarily housing migrant children.
In Murrieta, California, protesters stood outside a Border Patrol facility Tuesday and spoke out against processing immigrants there.
"We just want the uncontrolled, unchecked illegal immigration to be controlled," protester Dennis Hembd said.
Last week, a group of protesters in Murrieta forced a bus carrying immigrants to turn around.
In League City, Texas, the city council received applause after it passed a resolution forbidding the federal government from housing immigrant children in the community.
"The fear is we'll get 1,000 kids in League City - where will they be housed? I think our school system will be required to educate them, enroll them in schools," Mayor Timothy Paulissen said.
In other communities, like one outside a naval base in California, the views are more mixed - especially following a tour of a facility that is currently housing immigrant children.
"When I saw these kids I saw myself," resident Marta Arevalo said. "I saw they were scared and they're alone. As a parent, sometimes you have to make difficult decisions."
Now Congress has a difficult decision to make: they're trying to determine how much to spend to secure the border and process the children who have already crossed.
The president is asking for $3.7 billion in emergency spending. Already, more than 50,000 children have crossed the border this year and as many as 90,000 are expected by year's end.
The White House spending request includes $1.1 billion for border security as well as funds for immigration judges and facilities to care for unaccompanied immigrant children.