Divide deepens on immigration crisis

Immigration in 75 seconds

‘Documented’ reporter detained at airport

Earlier this month in Murrieta, busloads of babies in their mothers’ laps, teens, ‘tweens and toddlers were turned back from a detainee facility.

They were met by screaming protesters waving and wearing American flags and bearing signs that read such things as “Return to Sender.”

And so it goes. Southwest border towns, West Coast suburbs, and middle-America enclaves have become the newest battleground in the vitriolic political debate over immigration.

The showdowns highlight the scope and depth of challenges the Obama administration grapples with as officials try to use immigration-related fixes to resolve what politicians on both sides of the aisle have called “a humanitarian crisis.”

Here’s a snapshot of how things are playing out across the country:

Arizona: In Oracle, a town of roughly 3,700, protesters faced off Tuesday at Sycamore Canyon Academy, a nearby boys ranch that is to be used as a temporary housing facility for the immigrant minors, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.

Protesters representing both sides of the debate screamed and waved signs reading such things as “Send ‘em to Coyote Obama,” according to video from CNN affiliate KPNX. One man trumpeted a Mariachi-version of the “Star-Spangled Banner” as people around him yelled. Protesters even tried to stop a bus of kids from the local YMCA , which they had mistaken as the immigrant children. But the Central American children never arrived, according to media reports.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said accepting the unaccompanied juvenile immigrants only encourages more to come.

“Their very hope was realized when we took them in. Nobody was turned back and what I believe, and I think a lot of Americans would agree, is instead of accepting these 90,000, they should have — the humanitarian way to address this is reunite them with their families and their country of origin because this 90,000 is going to be hundreds of thousands,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Wednesday.

“These children should be returned to their home country — not to Oracle, Arizona, paid for by American taxpayers,” Babeu said earlier in a statement on the department’s Facebook page.

California: In sharp contrast to the reception similar children received in Murrieta, Central American immigrant children have been welcomed by the community of Fontana.

Just over 40 immigrants on Homeland Security buses arrived at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church there on Thursday and were greeted by staff and community donations of food, clothing and toys, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.

And a group of California state lawmakers headed to Central America on Monday to discuss the surge of immigrant children with leaders from that region, according to CNN affiliate KCRA.

Texas: Protestors in Waco, Texas, meanwhile, are demanding better conditions for the 250 men from El Salvador being held at the Jack Harwell Detention Center, according to CNN affiliate KCEN.

And the League City, Texas, City Council approved a proposal banning the housing or detention of undocumented immigrants within the city at a recent meeting, according to KHOU.

New Mexico: In Artesia, New Mexico, hundreds of residents turned out for a contentious town hall meeting to decry the hundreds of women and children being housed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility that also trains Border Patrol agents, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

Iowa: Gov. Terry Branstad told CNN affiliate WHO on Monday that he does not want federal officials to send Central American children to his state, adding that by accepting them, the United States is sending “a signal to send kids illegally.”

Some local aid groups are appalled.

Archdiocese seeks to aid illegal minors

Deadline looms on immigration compromise

Nebraska’s Governor on immigrants’ arrival

Migrants’ harsh journey through Mexico

“My God. This is a humanitarian crisis,” said Kathleen McQuillen, the Iowa Program Director of American Friends Service Committee.

McQuillen’s group, a Quaker-based organization, questions how the country could spend trillions on war and not have the pennies on those dollars to spend to take care of children in dire need.

She said, “It’s a simple thing to begin to say, what’s important in this world?”

Nebraska: At a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville earlier this month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman complained that federal officials did not notify him that they were placing hundreds of immigrant children with family members in his state.

Michigan: Protesters headed to city hall in Vassar earlier this month to oppose a social service agency’s plan to temporarily house 60 immigrant children according to CNN affiliate WNEM.

“It’s about the American government, Democrat or Republican, getting off their lazy butts and passing a decent bill where we can screen our immigrants, make sure they’re not felons, diseased or whatever, and get a program set up to bring them into this country,” Vassar resident Jack Smith told WNEM.

Virginia: Federal officials shelved plans to send the children to an unoccupied, historically black college campus in Lawrenceville, a small community of about 1,400, after nearly the entire town showed up at a meeting and furiously denounced the proposal.

“Our staff will immediately cease any further activities in your community,” Mark Greenberg, the Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary for children and families, wrote the community in June.

Prince William County officials were frustrated to learn second-hand that some children are being housed in shelters in the region.

“HHS did not inform the county. We’re somewhat upset about that,” Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart told CNN affiliate WJLA. “I’m concerned these children may be housed here permanently and of course there is going to be a drain on our educational system and other county services.”

Maryland: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told CNN in an interview that he asked the White House to not send the minor immigrants to a site in western Maryland that was under consideration.

“What I said was that would not be the most inviting site in Maryland. There are already hundreds of kids already located throughout Maryland,” O’Malley said. The plan was scuttled.

O’Malley officials pointed to graffiti that was found spray painted on the shelter site in Westminster, Maryland, last weekend as an indication of hostility the migrant housing plan was generating.

“No illeagles here. No undocumented Democrats,” the graffiti read.

A Maryland law enforcement official told the Washington Post the message would be investigated as a hate crime.

Washington: Roughly 600 unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America may soon be heading to Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, according to CNN affiliate KING.

Representatives with HHS are slated to meet Wednesday with Lakewood city leaders and staffers from the office of Democratic Rep. Denny Heck to discuss the matter.

“The biggest concern we have here in DuPont is the security,” DuPont City Administrator Ted Danek told the station. “You’ve got a lot of people coming here (with) no known backgrounds.”

And on Monday, the U.S. government deported the first group of what authorities promise will be many more — about 40 mothers and children. They flew to Honduras on a charter flight.

Despite the perils of their journey to the United States and their failed attempt to stay, one woman plans to make the trek again. There is nothing left for them at home, she said.

Divide deepens on immigration crisis

Immigration in 75 seconds

‘Documented’ reporter detained at airport

Earlier this month in Murrieta, busloads of babies in their mothers’ laps, teens, ‘tweens and toddlers were turned back from a detainee facility.

They were met by screaming protesters waving and wearing American flags and bearing signs that read such things as “Return to Sender.”

And so it goes. Southwest border towns, West Coast suburbs, and middle-America enclaves have become the newest battleground in the vitriolic political debate over immigration.

The showdowns highlight the scope and depth of challenges the Obama administration grapples with as officials try to use immigration-related fixes to resolve what politicians on both sides of the aisle have called “a humanitarian crisis.”

Here’s a snapshot of how things are playing out across the country:

Arizona: In Oracle, a town of roughly 3,700, protesters faced off Tuesday at Sycamore Canyon Academy, a nearby boys ranch that is to be used as a temporary housing facility for the immigrant minors, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.

Protesters representing both sides of the debate screamed and waved signs reading such things as “Send ‘em to Coyote Obama,” according to video from CNN affiliate KPNX. One man trumpeted a Mariachi-version of the “Star-Spangled Banner” as people around him yelled. Protesters even tried to stop a bus of kids from the local YMCA , which they had mistaken as the immigrant children. But the Central American children never arrived, according to media reports.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said accepting the unaccompanied juvenile immigrants only encourages more to come.

“Their very hope was realized when we took them in. Nobody was turned back and what I believe, and I think a lot of Americans would agree, is instead of accepting these 90,000, they should have — the humanitarian way to address this is reunite them with their families and their country of origin because this 90,000 is going to be hundreds of thousands,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Wednesday.

“These children should be returned to their home country — not to Oracle, Arizona, paid for by American taxpayers,” Babeu said earlier in a statement on the department’s Facebook page.

California: In sharp contrast to the reception similar children received in Murrieta, Central American immigrant children have been welcomed by the community of Fontana.

Just over 40 immigrants on Homeland Security buses arrived at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church there on Thursday and were greeted by staff and community donations of food, clothing and toys, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.

And a group of California state lawmakers headed to Central America on Monday to discuss the surge of immigrant children with leaders from that region, according to CNN affiliate KCRA.

Texas: Protestors in Waco, Texas, meanwhile, are demanding better conditions for the 250 men from El Salvador being held at the Jack Harwell Detention Center, according to CNN affiliate KCEN.

And the League City, Texas, City Council approved a proposal banning the housing or detention of undocumented immigrants within the city at a recent meeting, according to KHOU.

New Mexico: In Artesia, New Mexico, hundreds of residents turned out for a contentious town hall meeting to decry the hundreds of women and children being housed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility that also trains Border Patrol agents, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

Iowa: Gov. Terry Branstad told CNN affiliate WHO on Monday that he does not want federal officials to send Central American children to his state, adding that by accepting them, the United States is sending “a signal to send kids illegally.”

Some local aid groups are appalled.

Archdiocese seeks to aid illegal minors

Deadline looms on immigration compromise

Nebraska’s Governor on immigrants’ arrival

Migrants’ harsh journey through Mexico

“My God. This is a humanitarian crisis,” said Kathleen McQuillen, the Iowa Program Director of American Friends Service Committee.

McQuillen’s group, a Quaker-based organization, questions how the country could spend trillions on war and not have the pennies on those dollars to spend to take care of children in dire need.

She said, “It’s a simple thing to begin to say, what’s important in this world?”

Nebraska: At a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville earlier this month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman complained that federal officials did not notify him that they were placing hundreds of immigrant children with family members in his state.

Michigan: Protesters headed to city hall in Vassar earlier this month to oppose a social service agency’s plan to temporarily house 60 immigrant children according to CNN affiliate WNEM.

“It’s about the American government, Democrat or Republican, getting off their lazy butts and passing a decent bill where we can screen our immigrants, make sure they’re not felons, diseased or whatever, and get a program set up to bring them into this country,” Vassar resident Jack Smith told WNEM.

Virginia: Federal officials shelved plans to send the children to an unoccupied, historically black college campus in Lawrenceville, a small community of about 1,400, after nearly the entire town showed up at a meeting and furiously denounced the proposal.

“Our staff will immediately cease any further activities in your community,” Mark Greenberg, the Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary for children and families, wrote the community in June.

Prince William County officials were frustrated to learn second-hand that some children are being housed in shelters in the region.

“HHS did not inform the county. We’re somewhat upset about that,” Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart told CNN affiliate WJLA. “I’m concerned these children may be housed here permanently and of course there is going to be a drain on our educational system and other county services.”

Maryland: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told CNN in an interview that he asked the White House to not send the minor immigrants to a site in western Maryland that was under consideration.

“What I said was that would not be the most inviting site in Maryland. There are already hundreds of kids already located throughout Maryland,” O’Malley said. The plan was scuttled.

O’Malley officials pointed to graffiti that was found spray painted on the shelter site in Westminster, Maryland, last weekend as an indication of hostility the migrant housing plan was generating.

“No illeagles here. No undocumented Democrats,” the graffiti read.

A Maryland law enforcement official told the Washington Post the message would be investigated as a hate crime.

Washington: Roughly 600 unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America may soon be heading to Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, according to CNN affiliate KING.

Representatives with HHS are slated to meet Wednesday with Lakewood city leaders and staffers from the office of Democratic Rep. Denny Heck to discuss the matter.

“The biggest concern we have here in DuPont is the security,” DuPont City Administrator Ted Danek told the station. “You’ve got a lot of people coming here (with) no known backgrounds.”

And on Monday, the U.S. government deported the first group of what authorities promise will be many more — about 40 mothers and children. They flew to Honduras on a charter flight.

Despite the perils of their journey to the United States and their failed attempt to stay, one woman plans to make the trek again. There is nothing left for them at home, she said.

Immigration in 75 seconds

‘Documented’ reporter detained at airport

Goff and Wright face off on immigration

They were met by screaming protesters waving and wearing American flags and bearing signs that read such things as “Return to Sender.”

And so it goes. Southwest border towns, West Coast suburbs, and middle-America enclaves have become the newest battleground in the vitriolic political debate over immigration.

The showdowns highlight the scope and depth of challenges the Obama administration grapples with as officials try to use immigration-related fixes to resolve what politicians on both sides of the aisle have called “a humanitarian crisis.”

Here’s a snapshot of how things are playing out across the country:

Arizona: In Oracle, a town of roughly 3,700, protesters faced off Tuesday at Sycamore Canyon Academy, a nearby boys ranch that is to be used as a temporary housing facility for the immigrant minors, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.

Protesters representing both sides of the debate screamed and waved signs reading such things as “Send ‘em to Coyote Obama,” according to video from CNN affiliate KPNX. One man trumpeted a Mariachi-version of the “Star-Spangled Banner” as people around him yelled. Protestors even tried to stop a bus of kids from the local YMCA , which they had mistaken as the immigrant children. But the Central American children never arrived, according to media reports.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said accepting the unaccompanied juvenile immigrants only encourages more to come.

“Their very hope was realized when we took them in. Nobody was turned back and what I believe, and I think a lot of Americans would agree, is instead of accepting these 90,000, they should have — the humanitarian way to address this is reunite them with their families and their country of origin because this 90,000 is going to be hundreds of thousands,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Wednesday.

“These children should be returned to their home country — not to Oracle, Arizona, paid for by American taxpayers,” Babeu said earlier in a statement on the department’s Facebook page.

California: In sharp contrast to the reception similar children received in Murrieta, Central American immigrant children have been welcomed by the community of Fontana.

Just over 40 immigrants on Homeland Security buses arrived at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church there on Thursday and were greeted by staff and community donations of food, clothing and toys, according to CNN affiliate KTLA.

And a group of California state lawmakers headed to Central America on Monday to discuss the surge of immigrant children with leaders from that region, according to CNN affiliate KCRA.

Texas: Protestors in Waco, Texas, meanwhile, are demanding better conditions for the 250 men from El Salvador being held at the Jack Harwell Detention Center, according to CNN affiliate KCEN.

And the League City, Texas, City Council approved a proposal banning the housing or detention of undocumented immigrants within the city at a recent meeting, according to KHOU.

New Mexico: In Artesia, New Mexico, hundreds of residents turned out for a contentious town hall meeting to decry the hundreds of women and children being housed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a facility that also trains Border Patrol agents, according to CNN affiliate KOAT.

Iowa: Gov. Terry Branstad told CNN affiliate WHO on Monday that he does not want federal officials to send Central American children to his state, adding that by accepting them, the United States is sending “a signal to send kids illegally.”

Some local aid groups are appalled.

Deadline looms on immigration compromise

Nebraska’s Governor on immigrants’ arrival

Migrants’ harsh journey through Mexico

“My God. This is a humanitarian crisis,” said Kathleen McQuillen, the Iowa Program Director of American Friends Service Committee.

McQuillen’s group, a Quaker-based organization, questions how the country could spend trillions on war and not have the pennies on those dollars to spend to take care of children in dire need.

She said, “It’s a simple thing to begin to say, what’s important in this world?”

Nebraska: At a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville earlier this month, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman complained that federal officials did not notify him that they were placing hundreds of immigrant children with family members in his state.

Michigan: Protesters headed to city hall in Vassar earlier this month to oppose a social service agency’s plan to temporarily house 60 immigrant children according to CNN affiliate WNEM.

“It’s about the American government, Democrat or Republican, getting off their lazy butts and passing a decent bill where we can screen our immigrants, make sure they’re not felons, diseased or whatever, and get a program set up to bring them into this country,” Vassar resident Jack Smith told WNEM.

Virginia: Federal officials shelved plans to send the children to an unoccupied, historically black college campus in Lawrenceville, a small community of about 1,400, after nearly the entire town showed up at a meeting and furiously denounced the proposal.

“Our staff will immediately cease any further activities in your community,” Mark Greenberg, the Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary for children and families, wrote the community in June.

Prince William County officials were frustrated to learn second-hand that some children are being housed in shelters in the region.

“HHS did not inform the county. We’re somewhat upset about that,” Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart told CNN affiliate WJLA. “I’m concerned these children may be housed here permanently and of course there is going to be a drain on our educational system and other county services.”

Maryland: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley asked a top White House official that immigrant minors not be sent to a site that was under consideration in his home state, sources familiar with the conversation said.

“He privately said ‘please don’t send these kids to western Maryland,’” a Democratic source told CNN.

The heated discussion between O’Malley and White House domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz occurred during a phone call late Friday evening, sources familiar with the conversation added.

A senior O’Malley administration official confirmed the conversation took place. But the official stressed O’Malley, a possible Democratic presidential candidate, did not reject the idea of temporarily housing some of the children in other parts of the state.

Washington: Roughly 600 unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America may soon be heading to Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, according to CNN affiliate KING.

Representatives with HHS are slated to meet Wednesday with Lakewood city leaders and staffers from the office of Democratic Rep. Denny Heck to discuss the matter.

“The biggest concern we have here in DuPont is the security,” DuPont City Administrator Ted Danek told the station. “You’ve got a lot of people coming here (with) no known backgrounds.”

And on Monday, the U.S. government deported the first group of what authorities promise will be many more — about 40 mothers and children. They flew to Honduras on a charter flight.

Despite the perils of their journey to the United States and their failed attempt to stay, one woman plans to make the trek again. There is nothing left for them at home, she said.

“During the past few days, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has been informed by ‘whistle blowers’ in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security they plan to transfer between 40 and 60 unaccompanied illegal minors to the ‘Sycamore Canyon Boys Ranch’ in Oracle,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on its Facebook page.

“Our office has communicated with Homeland Security to express our public safety and public health concerns. We have already reached out to the director of the Sycamore Canyon Boys Ranch who has confirmed Homeland Security has been in negotiations with the facility to temporarily house the minors,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Sycamore Canyon Academy in Oracle aims to help young men who may be struggling at home or in school. But it’s not where the expected group of immigrant children should go, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said.

“These children should be returned to their home country — not to Oracle, Arizona paid for by American taxpayers,” Babeu said in the statement.

“We understand there will be protesters who support and oppose ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) bringing the foreign juveniles to Oracle. The Sheriff’s Office will work to ensure the peace is maintained at these lawful assemblies.”

Not alone

The tensions in Oracle mirror the strife this month in Murrieta, California. On July 1, a wall of angry protesters blocked three buses of undocumented immigrants from entering their community and forced them to turn around.

Demonstrators in Murrieta quarreled with counter-protesters over the country’s immigration system.

“I just wish America would be America again because it’s not, and it’s not just pointed to the Hispanics,” protester Ellen Meeks said. “Everybody needs to go through the legal ways.”

But immigration rights advocate Enrique Morones likened the migration to a refugee crisis and suggested that racial antipathy was motivating protesters.

“If these children were from Canada, we would not be having this interview,” he told CNN. “The parents have had enough. They are saying, ‘If I don’t send my child north, they are going to die.’ “

Michigan protest

On Monday, residents in Vassar, Michigan, protested against any undocumented juvenile immigrants coming to Tuscola County under a local social service agency’s proposal, according to CNN affiliate WJRT.

At a special Vassar City Council meeting Monday, members of Michigan Immigration Control and Enforcement told elected leaders they don’t want the juveniles in their town, the station reported.

Vassar Mayor Pro Tem Dan Surgent also opposed any local agency’s plans to house the youths and blamed President Barack Obama for the crisis, saying he is “a President that you can’t trust, you can’t believe him,” the affiliate reported.

“We are not insensitive, we are not a bunch of white racists out here, like they like to portray us. We love children. Otherwise, if we didn’t care of about kids, we wouldn’t have let Pioneer Work and Learn 22 years ago,” Surgent said, according to WJRT.

He was referring to the Pioneer Work and Learn Center, which is a youth program of Wolverine Human Services, the agency proposing to house the youngsters, the affiliate said.

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Michigan, recently expressed concerns about juvenile immigrants being sent to her state for detention in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“I write today about recent news reports in my home state of Michigan that are deeply troubling,” she wrote, referring to how the federal agency was seeking shelter space in several cities in Michigan.

“To date, I am not aware of any communication, formal or otherwise, relayed to these communities and/or their elected representatives, local health officials and law enforcement agencies regarding your agency’s intention to house the (undocumented child immigrants) in facilities within their communities,” Miller said.

Miller also inquired about what federal protective services have been arranged for the proposed facilities.

Federal officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Poll on President, Congress

A new national poll indicates that a majority of Americans approve of Obama’s short-term remedy, but most give the President and his Republican critics in Congress a thumbs-down on how they’re handling the crisis along the country’s southern border.

An ABC News/Washington Post survey, conducted July 9-13 and released Tuesday, found that 53% support the White House plan to spend $3.7 billion to immediately deal with the situation, with 43% saying they disapprove of the proposal.

The survey shows an expected partisan divide, with two-thirds of Democrats supporting the Obama plan. That number drops to 51% among independents and down to 35% among Republicans. Hispanics questioned in the poll support the proposal, 54% to 43%.

Even though a majority back the President’s proposal, only a third of Americans give Obama a thumbs-up on how he’s handling the issue of undocumented immigrants entering the country, and only 23% of those questioned say they approve of how congressional Republicans are dealing with the crisis. Even Republicans are divided (48% approval to 45% disapproval) on how federal lawmakers from their own party are handling the issue.

The poll questioned 1,016 adults nationwide by telephone. Its sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Behind the surge

A mix of poverty, violence and smugglers’ false promises has led to an influx of Central Americans — including minors — illegally entering the United States.

While critics say the federal government is failing to protect U.S. borders, the Department of Homeland Security said it is stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

On Monday, a group of about 40 mothers and children were deported on a chartered flight from the United States to Honduras.

“Our border is not open to illegal migration, and we will send recent illegal migrants back,” Homeland Security said in a statement. “We expect additional migrants will be returned to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the coming days and weeks.”

Congress: 12 work days to compromise on border crisis

CNN’s Evan Perez, Stephanie Elam and Traci Tamura contributed to this report.