FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

J une 9, 2014

Border Patrol Transports of Unattended Migrant Children May Violate Child Abuse Laws

PHOENIX Federal officials who apprehend children in border enforcement actions and then leave them
unattended at locations in Arizona may be guilty of felony child abuse under state law, warns Maricopa County
Attorney Bill Montgomery. In a letter to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Montgomery alerted
the agency to possible criminal violations and called for an end to the practice.

The actions by the federal government under the administration of Barack Obama to transfer women and
children who have entered the United States of America without lawful authority from Texas to bus stations in
the State of Arizona are appalling, Montgomery stated. To the extent that even one unaccompanied minor
under 16 years of age has been transferred to a bus station without regard for food, water or shelter or access to
the same may also constitute felony child abuse under Arizona law. Cases submitted to the Maricopa County
Attorneys Office for such conduct may subject federal officials to prosecution by my office and we will not
hesitate to seek appropriate punishment, he added.

Montgomery cites Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 13, section 3623, which prohibits any person from causing a
child to suffer physical injury or abuse or, having the care or custody of a child, causes or permits the person or
health of the child to be injured or to be placed in a situation where the person or health of the child is
endangered through dehydration or to be placed in any physical condition that imperils health or welfare. Any
federal official who directly engages in such conduct or who authorizes such conduct may be guilty of a class 4
felony.

Montgomery also notes that placing women and children in harms way through similar conduct may amount to
violations of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. This is not the America we aspire to be and
does not responsibly address the challenges we face from unauthorized immigration, Montgomery said.

Montgomery has sent a letter to the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement putting the agency on
notice of the potential violation of Arizonas child abuse laws and urging that ICE cease and desist the transfer
of individuals who have entered the U.S. without lawful authority from Texas to Arizona, particularly to bus
stations in Maricopa County.

This administrations malfeasance will not be conducive to creating an environment of trust and confidence
necessary for the type of federal immigration reform essential for the security and well-being of the United
States. A responsible system of immigration will not create false hope in parents and children leading to the
surge in unaccompanied minors now streaming across our borders, Montgomery said.

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