After Acting Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner John Sanders' resignation went public Tuesday, the migrant crisis at the Southern border took the spotlight once again in American politics. Though all eyes were on the CBP, it is the Health and Human Services branch of government that is responsible for handling unaccompanied alien children, and according to the HHS, it is running out of resources.
"We are running out of money in our program, and we really need to get the money so that we can provide services for these children," Deputy Secretary of the HHS Eric Hargan told Cheddar Tuesday.
A New York Times report on Tuesday, citing lawyers who visited the Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, said "some children said they had not been allowed to shower in nearly a month, and were so hungry that it had been hard for them to sleep through the night." According to the Washington Post, officials have confirmed that after moving children out of the station, more than 100 children were returned when officials could not secure bed space elsewhere.
Hargan explained that friction between a Democrat-controlled House and GOP-controlled Senate have posed significant barriers to getting funding to provide for children in these facilities
"We really need the resources to be able to care for these children throughout the government and we put forward a plan in May for us to get more appropriations so that we can provide better and more services for these children, both Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, and we really need that to be acted on," Hargan added.
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she reached a deal with progressives in the House on an emergency border spending package, making changes to the $4.5 billion border funding bill, which includes stricter standards in private detention facilities.
Just last week, Senate appropriators approved $4.59 billion in emergency funding to address the massive influx of migrants. The bill would provide $2.9 billion out of the lump sum for the HHS to care for unaccompanied minors.
"I believe, actually, Congress is dealing with this separately, is the latest that I've heard," Hagran said.
Time could be running out, though, if Congress plans to act before officials leave for their Independence Day recess, which could begin as early as Thursday.
Secretary of the HHS, Alex Azar told reporters at the White House on Monday, "We are full, we do not have capacity for more of these unaccompanied children who comes across the border."
While the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for migrants who illegally cross the U.S. Southern Border, it is the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) who must provide services for unaccompanied children. The ORR operates as a sub-department of the HHS, and provides various services for the minors, including healthcare, access to legal services, education, and family reunification.
But the HHS says it cannot provide a level of care for the migrant children with Congressional assistance only in the form of money, and that it does not stop with appropriations:
"We also need, just fundamentally, fixes to the immigration system legally, so that we can make sure that this system runs better."
He noted: "Really, the difficulties on the border are reflective of a broken immigration system."
Many U.S. consumers say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for holiday gifts in recent months, according to a a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A contributing factor is the unusually high import taxes the Trump administration put on foreign goods. While the worst-case consumer impact that many economists foresaw from the administration’s trade policies hasn’t materialized, some popular gift items have been affected more than others. Most toys and electronics sold in the U.S. come from China. So do most holiday decorations. Jewelry prices have risen due to the cost of gold.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
