Feds Begin Preparing for Possible 2015 Surge of Unaccompanied Children Across Border

    Just two days before Christmas, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took the first step to prepare for a possible "surge" of unaccompanied minors in 2015. HHS posted a Sources Sought notice to gather information on "options for contract surge capacity to shelter and care" for children who enter the country on their own. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 placed the responsibility for such children on HHS instead of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
    At this point, HHS is not estimating the number of children for which care may be needed in the coming year:

No decisions have been made regarding the need for surge capacity in 2015, but ORR is exploring options available should the need arise. The purpose of the temporary structures with staffing and services is to identify agencies capable of standing-up soft-sided structures, trailers, or other temporary structures that could shelter 100-2,500 children on federally leased or owned land.

    The Washington Post reported in October that homeland security chief Jeh Johnson placed the fiscal 2014 total of unaccompanied children at 68,434. After an enormous surge in the summer months, the numbers fell quickly in the fall. It is not yet clear if President Obama's immigration actions announced in late November have had any impact on that trend.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

Feds Renew Search for "Transportation Services for Unaccompanied Children"

    The Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency renewed its search this week for "Transportation Services for Unaccompanied Children" crossing the border into the United States. An earlier notice posted in January of this year seeking "escort services" for an estimated 65,000 unaccompanied children raised questions about the Obama administration's prior recognition of the effect that news of its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) plan would have on primarily Central American parents who mistakenly believed their children would benefit from the program.
    The current notice says that ICE will award an "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract" to provide "unarmed escort staff, including management, supervision, manpower, training, certifications, licenses, drug testing, equipment, and supplies necessary to provide on-demand escort services for non-criminal/non-delinquent UAC ranging from infants to 17 years of age, seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year. Transport will be required for UAC or family groups, to include both male and female juveniles."
    The documents note that the "volume of UAC apprehensions continues to create numerous operational challenges for DHS" as "apprehensions doubled in fiscal year (FY) 2012, reaching 12,000." A chart included in the documents illustrates the tremendous increase in the use of contractors to handle the increased traffic:

    Fiscal year 2013 saw a ten-fold increase in the number of contractor-transported unaccompanied children, and after four months of fiscal year 2014, the number was already more than half of the previous year's total.

    Another chart shows the top cities of origin and destination for the contractor-led trip. More than half originated in Harlingen, TX, very close to the border with Mexico. A little more than a quarter of the trips delivered the children to El Paso, TX.

    ICE notes that under current laws and regulations, the agency:

does not have authority nor is responsible to detain unaccompanied children; rather ICE is responsible for transporting these juveniles to the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) shelters located throughout the continental United States...
DHS places those UAC who cannot be returned immediately, as well as all UAC from countries other than Mexico or Canada, in removal proceedings under § 240 of the INA. DHS then transfers the UAC to the care and custody of ORR. ORR houses UAC in children’s shelters, staff-secure facilities, and secure facilities. ORR also maintains bed space in residential treatment facilities for children with special needs. ORR places young UAC, as well as UAC who are accompanied by their own children, in foster care, where they may apply for various immigration benefits through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), including asylum and other programs designed to assist victims of crime, abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and human trafficking.

    This current search for contractors by ICE comes even as President Obama is under increasing pressure to make a decision on the status of millions of illegal immigrants, possibly by expanding the DACA program.

Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

HHS Promotes: 'Embrace, Encourage, Celebrate' Gay, Transgendered Children

    The Department of Health and Human Services recently recognized the RISE project (Recognize, Intervene, Support, and Empower) in Los Angeles County for its work to fight "anti-gay and anti-transgender bias" in the child welfare system in the county:

To address the over-representation of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system, RISE set out to develop and evaluate a multi-pronged approach to helping LGBTQ youth find permanent and supportive families. Early research revealed that many LBGTQ youth in the foster care system question whether their environments are safe spaces.  RISE engaged youth to design posters named “Brave Space” and other materials to let all youth know that caseworkers, offices, and other environments are safe places.  Equally important is the message to others that anti-gay and anti-transgender remarks won’t be tolerated.

    One of the posters features the rainbow colors now ubiquitous in LGBTQ literature along with a message to "embrace, encourage, celebrate who we are."  The poster also discourages "homophobic, transphobic, racist, or sexist put downs and remarks."

    The Q in the LGBTQ acronym employed by HHS stands for Questioning, meaning those who are not settled on the question of their own sexuality. The even longer acronym LGBTQIA (adding "intersex" and "asexual," or "ally") has not gained widespread usage yet, although it has appeared on government websites from time to time, such as a 2013 Department of Education conference on bullying.

Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

IRS: Obamacare Raised Taxes for Some Children

    When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, one provision was a new 3.8% Net Investment Tax effective in 2013.  Although the tax will generally hit high-end taxpayers (threshold is $250,000 for married and $200,000 for single,) because of the way many parents choose to report their children's investment income, the tax will hit those children as well.
    While the basic application of this tax has been known since passage, the specific effects have become more apparent recently as the IRS issued its final rules, forms, and instructions.  Last Friday, the IRS published a tip on its website entitled "Tax Rules for Children with Investment Income." Included is this note regarding the Net Investment Tax [emphasis added]:

Starting in 2013, a child whose tax is figured on Form 8615 may be subject to the Net Investment Income Tax. NIIT is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of either net investment income or the excess of the child's modified adjusted gross income that is over a threshold amount...

    The new tax paid on children's income will be part of a so-called "kiddie tax" that stems from 1980s tax reform when Congress sought to recover taxes that were being lost on income from assets transferred from parents to children ("child" is defined as under age 19, or under age 24 if a full-time student.)  Investment income over $2,000 is taxed at the parents' highest rate instead of the rate used for regular income for the child.  And if the parents' income exceeds the NIIT threshold, the child's investment income is also subject to the additional 3.8% tax.
    The above scenario represents the simplest application of the regulations; individual situations can be more complex and will vary from person to person.  But according to a tax accountant interviewed by THE WEEKLY STANDARD for this story, "The bottom line: you will get a lot of upper-middle-class taxpayers paying an additional NIIT if they have shifted enough income-producing assets to their children via gift."  So while the tax was aimed at high-income taxpayers, it turns out Obamacare will hit some low age taxpayers as well.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

The EPA and the New Scientific Method for Kids: Just Believe Us

    The Obama administration's position on "climate change" is hardly news, but a page on the EPA's website targeted at students is a particularly egregious example of how the concept of "science" has been corrupted for political purposes.  Under the heading "A Student's Guide to Climate Change" is the promising subheading "Think Like A Scientist."  The subheading continues with the exhortation to "Uncover the cause of today's global climate change."  Then comes the following paragraph where "science" heads swiftly downhill and off a cliff:

Did you know that thousands of measurements of the Earth's air, water, and land are taken every day? These measurements come from weather stations, airplanes, ships, satellites, and many other sources all around the globe. Taken all together, these measurements and other observations tell us that the Earth's climate is warming, people are the main cause, and impacts on society and the environment are already happening.

    Isn't science grand?  Three sentences and our scientific journey has led us to the inescapable conclusions that:

1. Earth's climate is warming
2. people are the main cause
3. impacts on society and the environment are already happening

Science!  We just scienced!

    If any students' minds are still open at this point, a visit to the page helpfully entitled "Ruled Out" should take care of that.  Despite the foregone-conclusion nature of the heading, students are invited to investigate.  "Can you rule out natural factors as the main cause of today's climate change?  Examine the facts by clicking on the images below [sun, Earth's orbit, volcanic eruptions], and then make your decision."  Clicking on the images provides a short paragraph of information and then a question, "Could the sun/volcanoes/Earth's orbit be responsible for today's climate change? Reveal answer." A click on "reveal answer," of course, brings up the reasons why these factors have been - you guessed it - ruled out.  Eureka! Just a few minutes and a few clicks and voilà! We've just scienced again! And plenty of time left to play a few hours of X-Box before lunch!

    For those in middle school interested in delving deeper into the subject, the EPA recently announced a video contest.  Not surprisingly, the EPA is not looking for students to do experiments and present scientific conclusions - too messy.  So the conclusions are provided for them:

1) The signs of climate change are all around us. 

Here a few of the signs of climate change we’re seeing now: 

Higher Temperatures
Wilder Weather
Rising Sea Level
More Droughts
Changing Rain and Snow Patterns 

Visit our Signs of Climate Change web pages to learn more about the signs of climate change, and see the trends over the decades. 

2) The climate you will inherit as adults will be different from your parents' and grandparents' climate. 

Climate change means serious impacts on… 

Our health...Through longer allergy seasons, increased number of heat-related illnesses, and increased air pollution that can worsen asthma. 

The spread of disease... Warmer temperatures can expand the ranges and lifespans of disease-spreading mosquitoes and ticks. 

Heat waves and droughts... Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of heat waves and droughts. Heat waves increase energy costs for households, lead to blackouts and brownouts, and threaten human health and safety. Droughts can drive up food prices, limit hydroelectricity supplies, and affect manufacturing operations that rely on water to run their businesses. 

Wildfires... With climate change increasing the likelihood of hot, dry weather in many parts of the country, the risk of wildfires is expected to increase. 

Storms... In much of the country, more precipitation will fall in intense, short bursts such as blizzards and downpours, which can lead to flooding. In addition, scientists expect that hurricanes will become more intense, with higher wind speeds and heavier rains. 

Learn more about how climate change will affect people and the environment 

3) Now is the time to act on climate change. 

Reducing carbon pollution, and preparing for the changes that are already underway, is key to solving climate change and reducing the risks we face in the future. A major way carbon pollution gets into the atmosphere is when people burn coal, oil, and natural gas for energy. Everyone uses energy so everyone can be part of the solution!

It would appear that climate change "deniers" need not apply.
    The deadline for the contest is March 10, so time is running out.  So, ready kids? Grab your video camera and your EPA talking points, and let's science!

Drawstrings and the Nanny State

    On Tuesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall of some children's hooded sweatshirts due to "strangulation hazard."  The danger?  Drawstrings.

    As noted on the CPSC website, "Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission," and also, "It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product."

    Lest anyone misunderstand, I get that it is possible for such drawstrings to cause harm.  And yet the bottom line is that the federal government has criminalized a piece of clothing, or at least its sale or resale.  Are not warnings enough anymore? Is caveat emptor obsolete?  Must our government continually save us from ourselves?

    While pondering these questions, I decided to tweet the link and see if anyone else was pondering what I was pondering: "So, did everyone know that it is *illegal* to sell children's hoodies that have drawstrings?"  Much to my surprise, within minutes I received a reply from the CPSC:

    Whether the Twitter account of the CPSC is monitored or somehow generates automated tweets I do not know.  But the article to which the CPSC linked reads in part as follows:

Drawstrings can catch on items such as playground equipment or vehicle doors. CPSC has received 26 reports of children who have died when drawstrings in their clothes got tangled on playground slides, school bus doors and other objects. Waist and bottom drawstrings that were caught in cars and buses resulted in dragging incidents. 

CPSC first issued guidelines on drawstrings in February 1996. These were then incorporated into a voluntary standard in 1997. Since the clothing industry started following the voluntary standard, deaths involving neck or hood drawstrings  decreased by 75 percent and there have been no deaths associated with waist or bottom drawstrings. 

Still, we continue to see jackets, sweatshirts, and sweaters made with drawstrings that are dangerous. CPSC has issued more than 130 recalls involving clothes with drawstrings including 8 recalls between November 2011 and May 8, 2012. Here are some recalls from  just the past month (as of publication of this blog). So, check your child’s upper outerwear and make sure to follow the instructions on these recalls.

    So even after voluntary steps by the industry resulted in a 75% reduction in fatalities, the CPSC took the more drastic step of an outright ban.  But, one might argue, if it prevents the death of one child, it's worth it.  But isn't it possible our reliance on government to manage our safety in such minute ways has resulted in a more careless, less responsible society?

    Since the CPSC responded to my initial tweet, I attempted to continue the dialogue with a follow up. Having four children myself, I believe there is a clothing accessory that has endangered my children far more often than any drawstring: shoelaces.  I cannot find reliable statistics, but any parent could testify of the hazards of untied shoes.  So I asked the CPSC:

    So far, I have not received a reply.  Hopefully I haven't given them any ideas.  But just in case, I'm putting all my investment dollars into Velcro.

Some Things Speak For Themselves

    Posted today on the Washington state blog of the Obama campaign website:

Who’s In Wednesday - Bernard ABy OFA Washington on August 8, 2012 

It’s Who’s in Wednesday, Young Americans for Obama edition, and this week we’re joined by 11-year old Bernard A. 

Hailing from Vancouver, Bernard helps his mom phone bank every week, and has been a steadfast volunteer. At local phone banks, he makes calls like an old pro and he absolutely knows why he’s in for 2012. 

President Obama has made education a national priority. By investing in K-12 education, President Obama has worked to better prepare kids like Bernard for competing in the global workplace, and by doubling funding for Pell Grants, he has ensured Bernard can get the education he deserves. 

But that's not the only reason why he supports the President this election. 

“I like him because he can get everything he says done,” Bernard said. “I can look forward to the future and going to college [...] I like him because he’s modest.” 

If you, too, like the President and his modesty, then join Bernard in making phone calls, in volunteering, and learn why President Obama stands for and with the youth of this nation.

    I titled my post "Some Things Speak For Themselves," and as difficult as it is, I'm going to stick with that.  For now.