Chuck FleischmannTennessee's entire Republican congressional delegation has signed off on a letter that U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann wrote President Barack Obama "demanding answers about the administration's handling of the release of 760 unaccompanied alien children to sponsors in Tennessee," Fleischmann said in a news release Thursday.
The release said the letter was written in support of Gov. Bill Haslam, who already had questioned the Obama administration about the issue.
"For an administration that claims to be honest and transparent, withholding this information from state and local governments is completely unacceptable," Fleischmann wrote. "We deserve immediate and accurate answers about these illegal immigrants. This is of the utmost importance, and I will not stop fighting until we receive the truth. I have always prioritized strengthening our border and enforcing immigration laws, and it is time the President does the same."
The influx of as many as 30,000 unaccompanied children across the nation's Southern border this year has become a political as well as humanitarian issue.
So far, one child is known to have been placed in Chattanooga and five in Southeast Tennessee, according to Bridge Refugee Services and the Catholic Charities of Tennessee Inc.
Also signing the letter were Reps. John J. Duncan Jr., Marsha Blackburn, Phil Roe, Diane Black, Scott DesJarlais, and Stephen Fincher and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker.
Weston Wamp, who is challenging Fleischmann in the Aug. 7 Republican primary, issued a statement Thursday about the letter.
"We need meaningful leadership on immigration issues. I would hope that this letter is more than just a political stunt seven days before an election. For the past four years he has demonstrated a willingness to oppose everything without proposing solutions," Wamp wrote.