Feds Retreat After Maryland Residents Fight Plan to Dump Illegals

Protests from local elected officials in Maryland this weekend forced the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to cancel its plans to send illegal immigrant children to an Army Reserve center in Westminster, which is about 35 miles from Baltimore.

Maryland Democrat Gov. Martin O'Malley said illegal immigrant children flooding across the border should be considered "refugees" and all be given asylum status, but after Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) publicized the federal government's last-minute plans to sneak illegal immigrant children into Maryland, there was considerable blowback. HHS backed off, citing things like insufficient access to drinking water at the facility.

In a Monday appearance on WBAL radio in Baltimore, Harris said he found out late Thursday evening about the Obama administration's plans and "hit the ground running on Friday morning" to stop it from happening.

"We have to send a very clear message to HHS that this is crazy," Harris said.

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