Biden Tried to Put Unaccompanied Migrant Kids in South Carolina — State’s GOP Gov Said ‘No Way’

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Gov. Henry McMaster issued an order on Monday aimed at barring President Joe Biden’s administration from placing unaccompanied migrant children in foster care and group homes in South Carolina.

The message: The South Carolina Republican said in a statement on Twitter that he was concerned that an influx of migrant children would stress the state’s social services infrastructure.

  • “My Executive Order ensures that South Carolina’s most vulnerable children come first and the valuable services and care they receive are not disrupted,” he tweeted.
  • McMaster’s order would allow the state Department of Social Services to undertake any steps necessary to stop children being moved to South Carolina, the Associated Press reported.
  • In a letter sent to McMaster last week, Department of Social Services Director Michael Leach highlighted the potential risks, including COVID-19 exposure and financial burden, that the unaccompanied migrant children could bring to the state.

What did the Biden administration want to do? According to Leach, the federal government was offering South Carolina foster and group homes three times the daily rate the state pays them, which “would incentivize providers to accept migrant placements rather than the State’s placements.”

  • Federal officials contacted the state’s Department of Social Services in early April asking about regulations and for a list of homes with available rooms, Leach said in his letter.

The border crisis: In responding to the federal government’s plan, McMaster, an early supporter of former President Donald Trump, took aim at Biden’s handling of the situation at the border.

  • “The heartbreaking humanitarian crisis on our border was created by the Biden Administration. Sending unaccompanied migrant children from the border to states like South Carolina only makes the problem worse,” he tweeted.
  • An influx of migrants at the border in recent months has sparked bipartisan criticism of the president’s immigration policies and concerns about the treatment of migrant children separated from their families.
By We'll Do It Live