As the controversy over how to handle the hordes of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border grows, the White House is digging in its heels and refusing to change its tack.
"At this point, what we're focused on is making sure that we can ramp up the resources that are necessary to meet this growing need," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest,
The Hill reports.
A group of over 100 protesters tried to prevent three buses filled with illegal immigrant detainees from entering a Murietta, Calif., processing center last Thursday. They were being moved to California centers to relieve some of the burden on the overtaxed Texas system.
Earnest said he had not spoken to Obama about the protest and added that there was no plan to change current policies regarding children crossing the border alone.
"Those individuals who are concerned about border security and concerned about the situation at the border, that the most important thing they could do is not offer public invitations, but actually to lend their public support to comprehensive immigration reform," Earnest said, according to The Hill.
House Speaker John Boehner has said the GOP does not plan to vote on immigration legislation this year.
Authorities in Murrieta are refusing to discuss the whereabouts of the 140 immigrants that were supposed to be processed there, citing "safety and security considerations" the
Los Angeles Times reports.
There is no word on whether Obama will visit the border as Texas Gov. Rick Perry has requested. Obama is scheduled to be in Texas next week.