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Obama: Child migrants ‘urgent humanitarian’ issue

By WTOP Staff

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The flood of migrant children trying to cross the Mexican border alone has become an “urgent humanitarian situation” that is likely to cost the government more than $1 billion more than the Obama administration thought.

Late last week, the Obama administration asked Congress for $1.4 billion in extra funding to help house, feed and transport the tens of thousands of children being caught trying to cross the border illegally, and turned to the Defense Department to help temporarily house more than 1,000 of the children.

In a presidential memorandum issued Monday, President Barack Obama described the situation in stark terms and appointed the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, to lead the government’s response.

In the past eight months alone, 47,000 children have been apprehended at the southwest border.

Children trying to cross the border alone are not a new phenomenon, and the numbers have been on the rise since 2009. But Obama’s director of domestic policy, Cecilia Munoz, said the increase in 2014 is larger than last year and the group also now includes more girls and larger numbers of children younger than 13. The increase appears to have caught the administration by surprise, despite growing increases over the past few years.

“All of these things are contributing to the sense of urgency,” Munoz said. “These are children who have gone through a harrowing experience alone. We’re providing for their proper care.”

The government estimates that as many as 60,000 children, mostly from Central America, could be caught at the border this year. That would be a nearly 10-fold increase since 2011.

Between 2008 and 2011, the number of children landing in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement fluctuated between 6,000 and 7,500 a year. In 2012 border agents apprehended 13,625 unaccompanied children, and that number surged even more _ to over 24,000 _ last year.

Rampant crime and poverty across Central America and a desire to reunite with parents or other relatives is thought to be driving many of the young immigrants. Migrant kids remain in removal proceedings even after they’re reunited with their parents here, though many have been able to win permission from an immigration judge to stay in the U.S.

The growth has surpassed the system’s capacity to process and house the children, prompting the government to open an emergency operations center in South Texas to help coordinate the efforts of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Health and Human Services Department. It also turned to the Defense Department for the second time since 2012 to help house children in barracks at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio.

Mark Greenberg, an assistant HHS secretary, said Monday that about 1,000 children were being housed at the Texas base and as many as 600 others could soon be housed at a Navy base in Southern California.

If the latest estimates hold, the government could spend more than $2.28 billion to house, feed and transport the children to shelters or reunite them with relatives already living in the United States. The new estimate is about $1.4 billion more than the government asked for in Obama’s budget request sent to Congress earlier this year.

Republican lawmakers suggested Monday that the flood of children at the border was the result of Obama’s lax enforcement of immigration laws.

“The recent surge of children and teenagers from Central America showing up at our Southern border is an administration-made disaster,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Andre Hanen said in a scathing order related to migrant smuggling cases that the government was assisting in criminal conspiracies to smuggle children into the United States by reuniting them with parents or other relatives living in the country illegally.

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Sherman reported from McAllen, Texas.

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Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap and Christopher Sherman at www.twitter.com/chrisshermanAP

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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