Officials say the latest flight that landed last Friday night had 25 minors between 13–18 years of age. They were swiftly taken to 12 locations, including children's homes and shelters scattered across the tri-state and New York City suburban areas.
Not Informed, All Very Much A Secret
Steve Brescia, Montgomery Village Mayor, said they were transported out of the county. He revealed that they were never informed about the flights coming into the airport. "It's just disturbing we weren't informed of any of this. We are worried about the safety of the passengers who didn't know where they were going." The mayor said it seems clandestine.
Sources said local officials and the police came to know of the flights when someone at the airport reported "suspicious" activity after the minors were spotted filing off the plane and getting into a waiting bus and van.
Minors from Latam Region
Upon questioning the chaperones, the police found that the migrant children mainly hailed from Latin American region – Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Montgomery County's Deputy Police Chief Paul Arteta highlighted that the authorities and local officials made sure that the exhausted children were fed and had some toiletries. "Taking them 2,000 or 3,000 miles further away from where they originated is just terrible," he said. "They knew they were going to be helped in some way but they had absolutely no clue what was going on." Arteta believes the children should be reunited with their parents. "Never mind all the politics, they should be with their parents."
The Deputy Police Chief said the adults acting as chaperons for the minors had been contracted by a MVM which is a controversial Virginia-based private security firm that works for the US government. Arteta added that the chaperons had a file on them that had the flight plan and paperwork on each child, including their names, birth date, country of origin and where they were headed. Information, as per the files, stated that the children were being shipped off to a dozen different shelters, children's homes and vetted sponsors across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as the Catholic Guardian Services in Bronx and the Children's Village Shelter in Westchester County.
Areteta said the chaperons were very reluctant to say anything and none of them had any federal ID on them. As such, they were hesitant and not comfortable to give any information about what they were doing or who had instructed them to do it.
The Montgomery County found out that ORR was the main agency handling the issue. The ORR said it's not the way it should go down and if they bump into law enforcement, they should explain what they are doing.
US has a Crisis
As of late, the Biden administration has come under fire for orchestrating a slew of secret migrant flights. The Democrats-led government's actions clashes with it publicly shaming Republican governors like Texas' Greg Abbott and Florida's Ron DeSantis for shipping migrants to neighboring Democratic-run cities.
In 2021, a spokesperson for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis questioned the Biden administration resettling the migrants in "secrecy". Christina Pushaw asked "Why is the Biden administration refusing to share even the most basic information about illegal alien resettlement in communities throughout our state and the entire country." Rob Astorino, former Westchester County Executive, accused the Biden government of systematically spreading the southern border crisis to communities all around the country, often shrouded in secrecy and "under the cloak of darkness".
The US Department of Health and Human Services had said it was their legal responsibility to safely care for unaccompanied children until they can be reunited with a parent or vetted sponsor.
