U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is demanding criminal background checks on the unaccompanied children that have crossed the U.S. border with Mexico.
Kirk says 429 unaccompanied minors are living in Chicago. He says he’s sent letters to the U.S. ambassadors to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador asking whether their embassies have performed criminal background checks. He says the federal government must ensure the immigrants “pose no threat.”
Congressman Luis Gutierrez called Kirk’s comments “shameful.” He says Kirk “is trying to paint (children) as criminals.” More than 57,000 unaccompanied children have arrived in the United States since October.