Gov. Hutchinson headed to White House to talk immigration, border security

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and a handful of other border-state governors will head to the White House on Monday (May 21) to discuss the nation’s immigration policy and meet with President Donald Trump after the presidential ordered last month National Guardsmen to the U.S.-Mexican border.

Hutchinson revealed he received an invitation to the White House after noting that the Arkansas National Guard will deploy 10 soldiers and provide support and equipment as part of President Trump’s call last to secure the Mexico border.

“I spoke with Major Gen. (Mark) Berry today and he had indicated that we had deployed our men and women and support staff to the border. So we are currently in deployment status, and I waiting for specific details as to the number, but we have both equipment and service men and women who are down there on the border representing the Arkansas National Guard in response to President Trump’s request,” Hutchinson said at press conference at the State Capitol announcing $26 million in new federal funds for child care assistance.

President Trump first signed a proclamation on April 4 directing the Defense Department to assist the Homeland Security Department by providing security on the border. The Defense Department authorized use of the National Guard to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protections with up to 4,000 troops through Sept. 30 in the ongoing effort.

According to Pentagon officials, the National Guard troops will work only in operational support missions, which will not include roles in which they would interact with migrants or other people detained by DHS. Arkansas is among several southwest and western U.S. states that have volunteered to send National Guard troops as part of the state border security operation that begin in 2014 during the Obama administration.

Over the past week, President Trump has ramped up his criticism of illegal crossings at the Mexico border, comparing some to “animals” while addressing a meeting on Wednesday with sheriffs, mayors and other local leaders from California who oppose so-called sanctuary cities.

Gov. Hutchinson did not address President Trump’s policies or colorful remarks, but said the discussion at the White House next week will center on immigration and border security.

“I will be joining the (president) and the specific topic will be the border security efforts and it is his way of expressing his appreciation for support of the Arkansas National Guard,” he said. “But it is also an opportunity to have a broader discussion with border-state governors and the president on our border security efforts, and I am looking forward to joining him.”

Hutchinson, who is running against Hot Springs native Jan Morgan in the Republican primary for governor, said he also intends to take up the subject of possibly housing immigrant children at the Little Rock Air Force Base. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this week that federal officials are looking at housing children entering the U.S. illegally alone or with their parents at four military bases in Texas and Arkansas.

“Attorney General Sessions has that initiative and the Little Rock Air Force is on the list to be considered. I am anxious to hear more details on that and to get information …,” Hutchinson said. “It’s the administration’s way of making sure children are protected and properly taken care of, and hopefully curtail any misuse of that system as we have seen an increase in illegal movement across the border in the last couple of months.”

ELIMINATE WAITLIST FOR CHILD-CARE ASSISTANCE
As noted, Hutchinson and officials from the state Department of Human Services’ division of Childcare and Early Education also announced that Arkansas had received $26 million through a federal child care block-grant that can provide child care assistance for up to 3,800 additional children from low-income families – enough to eliminate the state’s backlog of family’s seeking assistance.

“I am grateful that Congress and President Trump saw fit to send more money back to the states,” said Hutchinson. “Success in life depends to a large degree on the quality of education early in life. This additional funding increases the number of children who will benefit from our first-rate early childhood programs and helps parents who are working or going to school.”

There are 2,056 eligible children waiting for assistance because of past funding constraints. DHS officials the federal funds will enroll all those children on the waiting list and still have funding available for other needs. About 10% of the $26 million must be used for professional development, infant/toddler initiatives, and for the improvement of the quality of child care in the state, DHS officials said. The other 90% will go into the block-grant program, which is commonly called the “child care voucher” program, and directly serves Arkansas families. More than 5,300 children statewide are served through infant/toddler, pre-K, after-school and summer programs.

“Arkansas has strong, high-quality early childhood programs, so it is exciting to know that we will be able to provide more hard-working families access to those services,” said Tonya Williams, director of the DHS” Child Care and Early Childhood Education division. “Research shows that the earlier you get children into high-quality learning programs, the better they will do as they progress through school.”

To be eligible to receive child care assistance, there must be at least one child in the home age 12 or younger, and the household income cannot be above 200% of the federal poverty level. At least one parent must work at least 30 hours per week, go to school full time, or be enrolled in a certificate or training program. Programs that participate in the child care voucher program must also participate in the state quality improvement and rating system for child care, which ensures children are in high-quality educational settings.

The additional block grant funding is part of the two-year budget deal that increased the Child Care Development Block Grant funding by $5.8 billion. Congress approved the bill, which President Trump signed into law in February.