Syracuse NY mayor to Obama: Send those immigrant kids up here!

Even as Congress struggles with the ongoing crisis at the border and the President plans some sort of meeting with Central American leaders, there seems to be no shortage of elected officials who want to get in on the action. Of course, if you’re looking for help with a huge problem on the Texas border, your first thought might not be to ask somebody in upstate New York. But that won’t stop the city’s mayor, Stephanie Minor. (Go ahead… say “Mayor Minor” five times fast.)

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The mayor’s latest pitch came in a letter to President Obama.

“We have a network of people who are used to dealing with refugee issues. And we have, most importantly, a compassionate community that wants to welcome these children and give them a safe place while these issues are worked out,” said Miner.

The Mayor is not alone in offering a helping hand.

“They’re somebody’s children. They’re loved. Parents made a great sacrifice, let them go, sent them here. I think that the parent that sends a child in a situation like that is hoping that their child will be received warmly and welcomed. Treated hospitably, and shown compassion,” said Bishop Robert Cunningham, Syracuse Roman Catholic Diocese.

The general idea is to house any incoming illegal aliens at the vacant campus of Maria Regina College, and the local reporters are eating it up. I’ve dealt with the media up here for some time, having had to work a couple of campaigns for Republicans, so it’s no surprise that the articles give very little coverage to the people who showed up at the proposed site to protest the plan. But they were out in numbers and saw things differently.

“You can tell the community is more behind us just by the honks,” said Carol Lucey, the New York State leader of Overpasses for America.”

Carrying signs and American flags, those opposed to housing the children said they came to protect America.

“We need to take care of our own first,” said Michelle Coon, of Constantia, and an Overpasses member. “There’s hungry children here in Syracuse. There are homeless children here in Syracuse.”

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This is clearly not the first case where somebody thought of sending the incoming children to nearly the opposite ends of the continental United States rather than keeping them close to the deportation point. And the media is quick to note that “no local or state money” will be required to house them. (No mention seems to be made of the fact that the federal money which will be used is coming out of the citizens’ pockets also.) One of the oddest claims being made by the Mayor and her media allies, however, is this one:

How long will they stay?
The average stay is less than 35 days.

That seems odd, since one of the most liberal sources on the web admits that the current backlog of cases stands at more than 375,000 and the average wait time is currently 587 days. But Syracuse is going to clear them out in an average of 35 days? Is anyone buying this?

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