TEEM Work yields “A New Beginning, A New Future”
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Pat McGuigan
With the theme “Ignite Change,” The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) held its 2021 fundraising luncheon last month at the historic Farmers Market on the west edge of downtown Oklahoma City. It was the first post-Pandemic event at the venue.
Kris Steele, TEEM’s executive director, described his respect for those seeking “to overcome and to move forward.”
The ministry works with persons “involved in the justice system” – former inmates or those facing trial.
Gene Rainbolt, a well-known Oklahoma banker long involved with TEEM’s work, said the ministry had reinforced for him, “The value in second chances.” Several TEEM staff members shared specific examples of the hundreds of persons, formerly incarcerated, the ministry has assisted over the past year.
Derwin Romani, a former TEEM participant, remembered that when he first arrived at TEEM, seeking to craft a better future after a lengthy incarceration, “I was briefly overwhelmed” with the embracing attitudes of the agency’s staff. He had lived with frustrations arising from being asked, when the questioner already knew the answer, the question “Do you have a felony?”
He understood employment is central, the key to individual and collective futures. TEEM was “a live-saver” for him and those he loves, Romani said.
Aaron Nally is Reentry participant at The Education and Employment Ministry now working full-time, saving money and hoping to bring Higher Education within reach. Organizers shared tender videos of Shari Smith with her family. Participating in the Oklahoma County Community Sentencing Program with TEEM, she has, as her biographical note described, “a home, her sobriety, and takes pride in her relationship with her children.”
A family event kept honoree Simonique McCoy from attending the event, but hers was among the more powerful stories shared. For a long time, she had assorted barriers to employment and “found herself fighting for survival and caught in a cycle of instability.” After connecting with TEEM Pretrial Services and the Oklahoma County Bond Program, she secured employment, while working toward a degree in Forensics and Psychology.
In his keynote address, former Congressman Watts reviewed work with the Colson Prison Reform Task Force, and his efforts to advance “Second Chance” legislation. He remembered the late U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, who pioneered “Enterprise Zones” for areas of economic deprivation, which evolved into the American Community Renewal Act.
Watts offered a good word for “that great theologian, Beyonce” saying there is meaning to the theme of one set of her lyrics concerning times when a person feels on top of the world, only to wake up with the world on top.
Watts encouraged the TEEM participants, affirming, “We can’t walk your journey for you, but we can walk the journey with you.”
Quoting the Gospel of John, Chapter 8: 1-11, Watts related the story of the woman caught in adultery, brought before Jesus (although none of her male “clients” were brought forth). Watts emphasized the compassion in the Nazarene’s words, when he told those ready to kill the woman that the one without sin could cast the first stone at her.
After the potential stoners left, in dialogue with the woman, Jesus encouraged her and concluded, “Go, and sin no more.”
Watts said, “That was compassion, and truth.”
Watts summed up: “Compassion without truth is incomplete. Truth without compassion is incomplete.” He said participants at TEEM “come before us and show the wounds, the sores. They don’t give us fantasies” – they bring tears and hopes and dreams.
The TEEM luncheon concluded with the “Leadership in Transformation” Award, presented to New York-based philanthropist Christian Keesee, who grew up in Okahoma City. The founder and president of the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Marfa Contemporary, Green Box Arts and the Brett Weston Archine, he is trustee for the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and the Kirkpatrick Foundation, legacies of his family.
The event planning committee included Pat Rooney, Cacky Poarch (also a sponsor), Jeff Struble and Donna Mitchell. Brittney Berling, development director, and other members of the TEEM staff addressed the luncheon, explained their work. “Ty” (Tyler) Fisher greeted many supporters of the ministry, guiding them to their assigned places in the packed second floor banquet area.
An array of local charitable organizations, businesses and individuals were sponsors for the annual event.
These included Tom and Judy Love, The Kirkpatrick Family Fund, BancFirst, Rainbolt Family Fund, Gene Rainbolt, Rainey Williams, Dr. Stan Basler, Ann Johnstone, Bowen Foundation, Herman Meinders, First National Bank (Rooney’s bank), Kirk Humphreys, Life.church, Jack and Khristi Gilchrist, the local professional basketball ‘Thunder,’ Pat and Marianne Rooney, Arndall Family Foundation, Bobby and Jayne Christensen, Elizabeth Stobaugh Pyle Foundation and the George Kaiser Family Foundaiton.
One attendee and a leading sponsor, who talked briefly with The City Sentinel, was Sue Ann Arnall of the Arnall Family Foundation. She is active in a diverse range of local efforts to improve life for all in central Oklahoma.
TEEM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which is “dedicated to breaking cycles of incarceration and poverty through education, personal development and work readiness training.” The TEEM mission summary describes “a three-pronged approach to breaking these cycles by providing individuals with education, social services, and job training and placement. By offering a hand up, we help our participants refine their skills and achieve their goals.”
The event program included a request for volunteers. Readers who are interested may contacat Nikki Sharber, volunteer coordinator, at [email protected].
Volunteer opportunities included organizing clothing closets, tutoring for GED tests, assisting in mock job interviews and job coaching, teaching prosocial activities and mentoring.
The ministry also welcomes gifts of men’s and women’s clothing, school and office supplies, hygiene items and “sharing your time and talent.”
The ministry operations from offices at 1501 N. Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City.
For more information, telephone 405-235-5671 or visit on the web: www.teem.org .
Disclosure: Patrick B. McGuigan is a past vice-chairman of TEEM. He was a long-serving member of the Board of Directors.
TEEM Work yields “A New Beginning, A New Future” Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
Sen. David Bullard said Oklahomans will not have to worry about their church being shut down during future state or national emergencies after the signing of Senate Bill 368 into law last week.
The Durant Republican is the author of the bill that prohibits any religious institution from being declared nonessential.
“Regardless of one’s faith, churches and other religious institutions are where people turn to for solace and guidance during difficult times. For many, that was taken away last year when churches in our state and around the country were unconstitutionally forced to limit their religious services,” Bullard, a Durant Republican, said.
“I’m proud of the Oklahoma Legislature and Governor Stitt for upholding the U.S. Constitution and reaffirming our citizens’ freedom of religion and ensuring government doesn’t interfere with Americans’ faith.”
S.B. 368, deemed the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act, prohibits any governmental entity from declaring or deeming a religious institution and any activity directly related to the institution’s discharge of its mission and purpose to be nonessential. Additionally, it prohibits the closure of such institutions for health or security purposes if those actions are greater than what is imposed on any private entity facing the same or similar health or security conditions.
Rep. Brian Hill, R-Mustang, is the principal House author.
"Nothing is more fundamental to our rights as Americans than the ability to freely express our First Amendment rights and exercise our religion as we choose,” Hill said in a statement sent recently to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel newspaper, and other news organizations.
“I’m grateful to have worked with Senator Bullard on this legislation to secure this freedom and to Governor Stitt in agreeing to its importance by signing it into law.”
S.B. 368 will go into effect July 1, 2021.
Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act becomes law Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK State Representative Ajay Pittman of Oklahoma City appointed to National Health Advisory Group5/2/2021
CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, has accepted a nomination to join the National Council of State Legislature’s Health Equity Advisory Group.
“I am honored for the opportunity to serve. This appointment comes on the heels of many of us celebrating the awareness of Minority Health Month which is the month of April,” said Rep. Pittman.
“I now have an opportunity to continue our promotion of health equity conversations on the national level. We must engage and educate more, and having a seat at the table to represent Oklahoma is a win for all of our citizens.”
As a member of the advisory group, Pittman will help the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) by compiling resources and information on how the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of resources disproportionately affected minorities and communities of color. She previously served on the Health and Human Services Appropriations and Budget committee and currently serves on Oklahoma’s Public Health Committee for the House of Representatives.
“NCSL is an organization that helps legislatures understand and tackle issues that affect multiple states across the country,” Pittman said. “It is a tremendous honor to not only be involved in this endeavor but to also have a seat at the table so that my community’s voice can be heard.”
Pittman, who has dual citizenship as a member of the Seminole Nation, was nominated to the NCSL group by the National president Senator Benny Shendo of New Mexico, and her peers in the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, and Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. She serves as the national co-chair for Health and Human Services for NCNASL.
“NCSL and state legislatures across the country will be better served to have Rep. Pittman on this advisory group,” Speaker McCall said. “I have complete confidence that she will represent Oklahoma well.”
“I have seen first hand how health disparities have remained a constant struggle for states to address the evidence-based data regarding access and affordability,” Rep. Pittman in her statement, sent to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel and other news organizations.
“This national committee will allow hand-selected local health committee legislators from across the United States to share best practices regarding transparency, and collaborate on healthcare solutions for underserved communities of color.”
State Representative Ajay Pittman of Oklahoma City appointed to National Health Advisory Group Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Pat McGuigan
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Oklahoma City – Senate Bill 131 originated as a proposal from state Senator Jessica Garvin, a Duncan Republican. It was a 15-page outline for adapting, in light of experience in recent years, state laws governing “the sale, manufacturing or packaging of dangerous drugs.”
In early April, with a committee substitute offered by state Rep. Marcus McEntire, also a Duncan Republican, S.B. 131 was transformed into an entirely new proposal aiming to oppose Governor Kevin Stitt’s planned Managed Care of Medicaid Expansion.
On April 21, the state House sent the CS (committee substitute) for S.B. 131 back to the upper chamber.
A new Oklahoma State Senate staff analysis of the fiscal impact of the McEntire-amended version of Senate Bill 131, asserts that “Although S.B. 131 does not expressly prohibit third-party managed care through SoonerSelect, in order to build a state-run managed care delivery system, the agency would require a significant investment that would continue for several years.
“Simply put, although OHCA [Oklahoma Health Care Authority] operates a limited care management program, OHCA does not currently have the personnel, infrastructure or technology needed to coordinate care at such a level to immediately provide SoonerCare members increased opportunities to access appropriate, quality care and improve poor health outcomes, while still controlling costs via a capitated per-member per-month cost.
“This fiscal impact reflects a 5 year investment, however similar investments would be needed every year to continue building and sustaining infrastructure and maintaining a state-wide staff. This estimate accounts for additional personnel, upgraded IT systems, data analytics, infrastructure needs, web portals/tools to reach members, etc. Administrative costs for the agency will increase to around 11% of the budget.”
The staff analysis notes: “An average of $263,400,000 would be needed every year for at least the first several years.”
In brief, that is more than $1 billion of increased spending within the Oklahoma Health Care Authority over the course of four-five years. Creation of a new internal managed care system would take three years, while implementation would stretch over a 4-5 year period.
Voter-mandated Medicaid Expansion must begin July 1, and Gov. Stitt’s plan to work with Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) would be operational by October 1 (pending federal approval).
MCOs already operate in 40 of the 50 states.
Creating a managed care framework within OHCA would require two to three years, at a minimum, with five years likely and ongoing long-term expenses.
Critics of the McEntire measure argue Oklahomans do not want an all-government single-payer system, and that Oklahoma’s expanded Medicaid would work better as a public-private partnership, with MCOs providing expertise needed to fashion both better health outcomes and cost discipline over the decades ahead.
Gov. Stitt denounced the House Committee Substitute expressing disappointment that the majority, including many Republicans, “voted to grow government and spend $1.2 billion of taxpayer money over five years on a one-way ticket to Joe Biden’s socialized health care plan in order to please the Oklahoma Hospital Association.”
Note: This report first appeared in the Southwest Ledger, April 29, 2021 print edition and online: https://ift.tt/3usqXPF. Southwest Ledger, 7602 US Highway 277, Elgin, OK 73538, (580) 350-1111. It is reposted here with permission.
McEntire’s aim to spike Stitt’s Managed Care plan carries $1.2B price tag Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Pat McGuigan
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed into a new law to pilot a “victim-led restorative justice pilot program” for Oklahoma, according to a press release state House legislative staff.
House Majority Caucus Whip Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City crafted the measure, intending – in the words of the House release – “to divert non-violent offenders from traditional prosecution and incarcerations models. Instead, cases are referred to the program and trained citizen-led mediation panels help determine punishment and restoration. The goal is rehabilitation of the offender through reconciliation with the victims and the community at large.”
Rep. West explained, “I’ve looked at models from across the country where these programs have worked wonderfully. Victims of crime feel restored, members of the community feel satisfied. Perpetrators of crimes know the weight of their actions and make restitution without having to serve lengthy jail or prison sentences. This is true criminal justice reform.”
Colleen McCarty, policy counsel at Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, told The City Sentinel, "We believe in alternatives to prison and diversion programs that are equitable to all Oklahomans. Diversion from prison is the most important intervention the criminal justice system can offer because data shows once people go to prison, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever recover personally, emotionally, and financially. It is crucial that these diversion opportunities are fair and equitable to all Oklahomans.”
Senator Darcy Jech advanced the measure in the upper chamber.
In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel, and other news organizations, the Kingfisher Republican said, “Restorative justice programs are a great option for non-violent offenders to get the treatment and help they need without putting further strain on our criminal justice system. I’m pleased that both the Senate and House provided overwhelming support for this measure that authorizes district attorneys across the state to create these programs for qualified offenders.”
The measure emerged form an interim study Rep. West guided last year. In the staff release description of the study, “She brought in several experts from across the country where such programs have seen wide success. She said she liked the model because it was victim driven but also helped offenders be restored to their communities. Under the program, an offender’s plan could range from an apology, to repayment or replacement of a stolen item, or other recommendations aimed at repairing harm to the victim and giving the offender a chance to make things right.”
The District Attorneys Council (DAC) – approved under the new bill, “to develop and administer the five-year pilot program -- has agreed to look for grant funding.
The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the Administrative Office of the Courts Alternative Dispute Resolution Program also have agreed to provide support.”
Perry, of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform told The City Sentinel, "We believe in alternatives to prison and diversion programs that are equitable to all Oklahomans. Diversion from prison is the most important intervention the criminal justice system can offer because data shows once people go to prison, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever recover personally, emotionally, and financially. It is crucial that these diversion opportunities are fair and equitable to all Oklahomans.”
In the words of the staff press release, the DAC, under House Bill 1880, is directed to “use a deferred-prosecution agreement method, utilizing evidence-based practices and techniques to create the community-based restorative justice program.”
The final version of West’s law passed the House 89-1 (with 11 members not voting) on March 1; in the Senate the legislation sailed through 44-0 (four members absent) on April 14. Gov. Still affixed his signature, enacting the measure, on April 21.
The new restorative justice legislation will take effect on November 1.
Reform advocate hopeful Rep. Tammy West’s new law will advance restorative justice Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill to ensure Oklahomans are informed about the costs associated with a state question and where that funding could come from is now law. Senate Bill 947, by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City, was signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday (April 27).
“We’ve worked diligently to increase fiscal transparency and accountability in state government. This really is an extension of this effort,” Rosino said.
“This will simply make sure that if a state question has a cost, it has to say so on the ballot description as well as how it could be paid for. This is basic information citizens should have in order to make informed decisions when they cast their ballots.”
Under S.B. 947, ballot titles would have to include information about whether a state question would have a fiscal impact, including the amount and where the funding could come from, such as federal funding, or a legislative appropriation, which may require a new tax, an increase of an existing tax, or elimination of existing services. The requirement would apply to state questions created by the initiative petition process as well as those submitted by the Legislature.
“Before Oklahomans vote on a question that could result in new state law, they should be aware if there will be a potential cost and possible sources of funding. This bill ensures they have that information,” West said in a press release sent to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel newspaper and other news organizations.
“I’m thankful to Senator Rosino and the governor for helping pass this common-sense legislation.”
The legislation garnered overwhelming Republican support in both the Senate and House, with Democrats in opposition.
S.B. 947 secured a 36-8 majority in the upper chamber (with three members not voting), and a 70-18 margin (with 13 not voting) in the lower chamber.
Senate Bill 947 will take effect Nov. 1, 2021.
Note: Pat McGuigan contributed to this report.
www.CapitolBeatOK.com
Senator Paul Rosino’s bill to provide financial impact of state questions becomes law Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
Oklahoma City – Each year, thousands of military families are transferred to Oklahoma’s four military bases. State Sen. Frank Simpson, with Oklahoma City Rep. Max Wolfley, authored a pair of bills this session to help these families speed up the process of getting their children back in the classroom.
Senate Bills 68 and 69 were signed into law on April 20.
The first was a request of the U.S. Department of Defense to bring Oklahoma in line with other state under the National Compact on the Education of Military Children. S.B. 68 provides school district residency status to children of active military members who have been or will be transferred to a state military base.
Schools will be required to accept electronic student enrollment applications and parents must provide proof of residence within 10 days of moving to Oklahoma.
Currently, only Oklahoma residents can enroll in a statewide virtual charter school. SB 69 provides the same provisions as S.B. 68 to allow military children to enroll in virtual charters.
“We have a large military population in Oklahoma, and these bills will make it easier for those transferring in to get their children back to school as quickly as possible,” Simpson, a Springer Republican, said.
Sen. Simpson, U.S. Navy veteran and Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee chair, continued: “It’s hard enough being a military family with the constant moving and deployments. These measures will help take away some of the burden of getting their kids enrolled and back in the classroom. I want to thank my legislative colleagues for their tremendous support of these two bills to help our military families.”
Rep. Max Wolfley, R-Oklahoma City, whose district includes Tinker Air Force Base, is the principal House author of the bills.
“I believe that Senate Bills 68 and 69 will help ease the burden military families and children are facing when enrolling in virtual charter or other public schools, and I was glad to work with Sen. Simpson to carry this legislation in the House,” Wolfley said.
The measures will go into effect July 1, 2021.
Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Max Wolfley author bills, signed by governor, to speed up school transfers for military kids Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
Oklahoma City – On Monday (April 19), Governor Kevin Stitt signed legislation into law allowing law enforcement to use telemedicine assessments for those who need mental health services. Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, authored Senate Bill 3 to ensure people in mental crisis are treated as patients, rather than prisoners.
“Mental health is a growing problem in our state, and in order for those in crisis to heal, they have to get proper care and services,” Bullard said. “The hands of law enforcement have been tied when dealing with those in mental crisis because their only option was to take them to jail. Senate Bill 3 allows them to contact a mental health professional at the scene who can assess them virtually using telemedicine. The officer can then take the patient directly to the nearest mental health facility to get them the help they need much sooner and allow the officer to return to work faster.”
Senate Bill 3, which was approved unanimously by both the Senate and House, requires officers to transport individuals in need of mental treatment or subject to an emergency detention or protective custody order to the nearest facility within a 30-mile radius. The law enforcement agency that provides the emergency transport to a treatment facility will be responsible for any further transportation following the completion of the examination, emergency detention, protective custody, or inpatient services. If there is not a facility in the area, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, or one of their contracted organizations, will transport the patient.
Bullard has worked on the legislation for three years holding interim studies and collaborating with law enforcement and mental health officials as well as his legislative colleagues.
“We put a lot of work into this legislation. It may seem like a straight-forward, commonsense idea that those in mental crisis should go directly to a facility where they can receive proper treatment, but this isn’t how things have been done and we had to change that,” Bullard said.
“I want to thank my coauthor, Representative Humphrey, for his dedication to this important issue, and my other legislative colleagues, the Department of Mental Health and our many law enforcement agencies for working with me to get this law just right to assist both the patients and officers. This has been a long time coming and I’m finally glad to see it cross the finish line.”
Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, is the principal House author of S.B. 3 that will go into effect November 1, 2021.
“Senate Bill 3 is a huge win for all law enforcement, the mentally ill and all Oklahomans,” Humphrey said. “This will help those who might need mental health services when they interact with law enforcement officers. At the same time, it gives those officers better tools to help these individuals and frees them from making transports across the state. Instead, that will happen more appropriately by the Department of Mental Health.”
www.CapitolBeatOK.com
Governor Kevin Stitt signs law enforcement mental health transport measure advanced by Sen. Bullard and Rep. Humphrey Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – Intrastate crowdfunding is now legal in Oklahoma after Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 568 on Monday (April 19).
The measure, authored by Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton, and Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, allows small startup businesses to raise capital through crowdfunding, which is the practice of funding a venture by raising small amounts of money from a large pool of people.
“This measure allows investors of all sizes to participate in investing in Oklahoma businesses,” Montgomery said. “Allowing our small businesses to tap into capital investments in this capacity will be a boost to our state’s effort to diversify our economy. I’m thrilled we were able to see this measure to the finish line, and I thank the governor for his support.”
Under the bill, sales or offers to sell a security are exempt from the Oklahoma Uniform Securities Act of 2004 if:
• The issuer is a corporation or business residing and doing business in the state, the purchaser is a resident of the state, and the transaction meets the requirements of the federal exemption for intrastate officers;
• Sales are limited to $5 million, and the aggregate value of securities sold by an issuer to any person doesn’t exceed $5,000, unless the purchaser is an accredited investor;
• Commission or remuneration is not paid or given to a broker-dealer or agent; the issuer files quarterly and fiscal year-end reports to the Oklahoma Department of Securities; and
• The issuer holds funds in an escrow account.
“Senate Bill 568 cuts red tape and allows greater opportunities for start-up business growth in our state and for Oklahomans to invest in these home-grown companies,” Hilbert said.
The measure went into effect immediately upon signing.
Governor Kevin Stitt signs Montgomery-Hilbert measure legalizing instrastate crowdfunding Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report (Transcript: Sen. Lankford on Senate floor)
Editor Pat McGuigan's Note: In March, U.S. Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, spoke eloquently on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the security crisis at the Southern Border of the United States. For the sake of understanding exactly what the state’s junior senator actually said – rather than the soundbite critiques from his political foes – and the focus of his work on the border issues, CapitolBeatOK.com here offers here the transcript of his mid-March comments.
On January the 20th of this year, President [Joe] Biden declared the repeal of an emergency action at our southwest border. He withdrew that and said, ‘There is no emergency that currently exists there,’ and paused all funding for the border wall system construction. Stopped it. Wherever it was that day it ended that day.
That same day he announced a 100-day moratorium on deportations in the country. He stopped it. Now within a few days, the court stepped in and federal courts said, ‘You can’t just stop actually executing faithfully the laws of the United States,’ and so a court halted then his halt of a moratorium on deportations. In this case, his actual request for a moratorium deportation halt was for those that had actually gone all the way through the court system and a federal Court had asked them to be removed from the United States. That’s what President Biden was trying to stop. Federal courts then stepped in and said, ‘When the courts have said they have to be removed, the executive branch can’t just ignore that, they have to actually be removed.’
That opened the floodgates. Those two announcements together there that we’re not going to do any more border construction, we’re going to stop that. And then the announcement of the moratorium started the process of a stir in Central America among the human smugglers to get the word out to say this President is going to allow people in and it’s going to be different. Why would I say that and why would they say that? Because even in the time when I was sitting down with now Secretary [Alejandro N.] Mayorkas in his hearings before he was actually confirmed and I asked him in those hearings, ‘There’s a caravan coming to the United States right now with hundreds of people in it and growing. What is your message to them that if you became the Secretary of DHS, what would you want to make sure those folks heard?’ His response to me in that hearing was, ‘I would tell them to wait, not yet.’ Not yet.
The coyotes didn’t hear it that way. They’ve accelerated pushing people. So what’s actually happening on the border?
Last weekend, I spent the weekend in Arizona, just south of Tucson in Nogales, small little town of 26,000 people that sits right on the border with Mexico. Now it’s 26,000 on the American side, but on the Mexican side it’s a city of 450,000. It’s a very large community on that side and literally they have built up the community directly against the border. For the border fence, and much of that fence has been there for a very long time, they’ve literally built properties directly against that fence. As Mexicans, they can do that. That is their property to be able to do that.
That’s not the issue, but the interesting thing was to be able to visit with folks from HHS [Health and Human Services] that are taking care of the unaccompanied minors in the area. To visit with Customs and Border Protection that are actually handling the cross-border transition and with Border Patrol leadership to be able to go through that area and to be able to see.
Let me say a couple of things that I saw this weekend that might be helpful to get the context.
The folks that I visited with at HHS that are there taking care of the unaccompanied minors that are coming in, and we are seeing a significant surge of unaccompanied minors because the Biden Administration has now changed the policy and said, ‘If you’re 18 years old and up because of the pandemic, we’re not going to allow you in.’ It’s called Title 42 authority. The Trump Administration had actually put that in place. And so during the time of the pandemic, we’re trying to limit cross-border traffic. You can’t just come in. The Biden team has now changed that and said, ‘If you’re 18 and up, you can’t come in immediately. But if you’re 17 and down, you can.’
And so what are we seeing? A massive surge of unaccompanied minors right now. Literally an invitation to say, ‘You can come but don’t bring your family with you.’ When I sat down with the folks at HHS there who are doing a fantastic job doing the best they can to be able to take care of those kids, I asked them, ‘What are you seeing?’ And the vast majority of the kids that they’re seeing coming across the border are 16 and 17 year old males.
So when you hear the term, we’ve got all these kids coming across the border, sometimes as Americans we think these are five-year olds crossing the border. They’re not. The vast majority of them are 16 and 17 year old males coming across the border. They’re also being transported to individuals that are here in the country that are family members that are already present here in the country, most of those also illegally present the country. Their uncles and aunts, their cousins, brothers, and sisters that are already here, because we have separate categories in how we actually transition those kids into someone to be able to take care of them before they have their court hearing. Most of those court hearings will take two years. So they’re crossing the border, 16 and 17-year old males, being connected with an uncle that’s already here many times illegally as well. And they’ll have for the next two years to be able to be here before they have a court hearing to be able to go through the process if they come to the court hearing.
When I visited with the folks at Customs and Border Protection they were frustrated with the lack of funding that’s been given to them to be able to take care of the needs for that particular facility and helping to manage the number of people that are coming through.
They need additional assistance because in that very old facility they need additional barriers to be able to just help them manage the flow of people as they come through. And when I visited with Border Patrol, we drove just a couple of miles out into the desert just to the west of this town of 450,000 people to go see the new fence that's being constructed. Now it may be hard to be able to see in this, but miles and miles of new fencing are going in, but on the day January, the 20th, construction was halted. And in this particular area, miles and miles of fencing, except for these gaps in the fence. See those gaps were put in there to be actually gates. So if they have to take care of the fence, they can get access to both sides of it for this miles and miles and miles and fencing is done except for the gate area and literally the steel for the gates are laying on the ground. Why in the world would you do construction and have it stop to say you can build everything except close the gates?
The Border Patrol team has literally drug over some of the steel just to be able to stack in front of the gaps that are in the fence here to keep vehicles from driving through and tried to put different barriers there to try to slow down the traffic. And for every one of these gaps along this miles and miles of fence, they're having to assign a Border Patrol agent there just to be able to sit at that gap because it's the obvious place just to be able to literally walk through the fence. There's only one reason that you would have a fence like this for miles and miles and leave it open as a gap: to allow people through.
Worse than that, all the way through this construction area is just a dirt path they've used for construction. But in the contract itself, it was set up to be able to allow for the fence construction is first — because remember this is a wall system, there's technology and wall — walls are medieval, and I get that. But there's a reason we still use fences in our backyard and there's still a reason that we use fences as barriers because they work. They slow people down from actually crossing that barrier. But it's a wall system in place.
So for this for miles and miles and miles in the contract and as it's written, they put up the fence first, close up the gates second and then they finish the road, so Border Patrol can actually pass through here even when it rains in this area to have a simple road passage there and then they put in ground-based sensors, so they can detect when people are walking across, and then they put in lights and cameras, all the technology that we talk about in this room. I can't remember how many times I've heard my Democratic colleagues say, ‘Fences are old. Let's just do the technology.’ Technology can help manage this. In this situation the contract is out and done. The fence is already installed except for the gates, but no technology is there.
So literally the Biden team stopped before what even they claim is the effective part to stop people from illegally crossing the border. $1.6 billion was paused. That 1.6 goes to simply closing the gates and installing the technology. That's what remains. This is nonsensical. I understand the Biden team and some of my Democratic colleagues want a more open border. They've been clear on that. But this does not provide security for our nation. This is the result of saying, ‘I don't want any more wall.’ This nonsensical system on our southern border with literally open areas that you could drive a truck through and where Border Patrol agents have to then sit at rather than monitor large areas. They're stuck monitoring the open door.
Listen, we can have arguments about immigration, but supposedly we all agree we should have border security. At least we used to. This doesn't make sense, but this is now the reality and it will sit like this for, we don't know how long, maybe forever, until we as a nation determine this has got to change. Is it an open invitation?
Have things really changed significantly on the border? Let me give you an example that's pre COVID. Pre COVID, February of last year before COVID came through—so don't say that things have changed in COVID. February of 2020, we had under 40,000 people that were apprehended crossing our southern border that month, under 40000 pre COVID, that’s transition and an arrest process. This February with the only thing changing being the change of presidents, we had over 100,000 people illegally crossing the border.
One year later, we go from less than 40,000 to over 100,000. This is a manufactured crisis that's happening on our border, a halting of closing up the holes in the fence, statements about we're going to do a moratorium that we're not going to have anyone deported anymore, changing the rules on unaccompanied minors to basically invite them to come into the United States again in statements like, ‘Caravans. I would just tell them to pause, we're not quite ready for you yet,’ is really not going to be a pause at all. That's going to be an invitation and that's not me saying that. It’s the thousands and thousands of people that are coming to be able to connect with relatives that are already here and to be able to walk through a process to be able to go around our visa application process, to be able to go around legal immigration.
May I remind us as a country, we allow a million people a year to legally come to the United States and become citizens, a million people a year. We're not a stingy nation in engaging with legal immigration. There's a right way to do it, and we welcome people to be able to do it the right way.
This is welcoming people to do it the wrong way and that does not help our security as a nation.
U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma Critiques President Joe Biden’s Border Policy Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
Pat McGuiganThe dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know. Archives
September 2021
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