Bishops Kevin Farrell of Dallas and Michael Olson of the Fort Worth Diocese spoke Monday about a "humanitarian crisis" on the border. (Lara Solt/Staff Photographer)
Editor’s note: This post has been updated from the original version.
Catholic Bishops Kevin Farrell of Dallas and Michael Olson of Fort Worth spoke this afternoon about the surge of migrant children entering the U.S. illegally and how the North Texas community can contribute to the “humanitarian effort.”
Farrell said sending 1,000 National Guard troops to the Texas border doesn’t provide a solution to the problem: about 100,000 juveniles who have been apprehended without a parent for illegally crossing the U.S. border in the past two fiscal years.
“It doesn’t resolve the problem of the moment and that is what we need to focus on,” the Catholic bishop said at a news conference at the Dallas diocese’s headquarters. “I’m sure that the governor has reasons for sending 1,000 troops to the border area.”
Olson said Perry should clearly articulate the role of the National Guard so that juveniles “already harmed” by violence in their Central American countries would not be harmed further.