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The facilities Homeland Security uses to detain illegal immigrant families are actually clean, well-run and meet the governments standards, the inspector general said in a new report Wednesday that contradicts the complaints filed by immigrant-rights advocates.

Investigators said they made unannounced spot visits last year to three U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities that detain families, and, while they spotted some problems with security and preventing intrusions, they did not see problems with the treatment of illegal immigrants themselves.

The facilities were clean, well-organized, and efficiently run, Inspector General John Roth said. Based on our observations, interviews, and document reviews, we concluded that, at all three facilities, ICE was satisfactorily addressing the inherent challenges of providing medical care and language services and ensuring the safety of families in detention.

Investigators didnt have any recommendations for changes.

The facilities have long been controversial, but have come under even more scrutiny with the massive influx of illegal-immigrant children and families from Central America who poured across the U.S.-Mexico border, fleeing rough conditions at home and seeking to take advantage of lax enforcement under President Obama.

Advocates said the families were being maltreated, and said any detention at all of families is inhumane.

The Obama administration and now the Trump administration have defended the facilities, saying they are needed to ensure that illegal immigrants are deported properly. They also said the facilities are as humane as can be.

In the new report, investigators detailed well-run facilities that look more like schools and dormitories than prisons.

Detainees are given medical care, information is provided in English, Spanish and even Quich, an indigenous Central American language spoken by some of the new arrivals.

Advocacy groups have complained about conditions, including having lights on at night in some areas and doing welfare checks throughout the night, but the investigators concluded those were reasonable safety measures.

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DHS audit clears facilities that detain illegal immigrant families ... - Washington Times

The mere election of Donald Trump has had salutary effects with regard to illegal immigration. Reportedly, for example, the number of people trying to enter the country illegally has dropped dramatically. The Associated Press hasnt expressed an opinion on that trend, to my knowledge, but it is concerned about a similar phenomenon: fewer illegal immigrants are signing up for food stamps.

A crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump has driven some poor people to take a drastic step: opt out of federal food assistance because they are fearful of deportation, activists and immigrants say.

People who are not legal residents of the U.S. are not eligible to take part in what is formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

That is correct.

But many poor families include a mix of non-legal residents and legal ones, such as children who have citizenship because they were born in the U.S. In those cases, it is often an adult who is not a legal resident who submits the application.

So once again, the anchor baby is the hook.

Some now feel that is too dangerous under a president who has made immigration enforcement a priority. Throughout the U.S., there are accounts of people resisting efforts of nonprofit organizations to sign them up for food stamps, letting benefits lapse or withdrawing from the program because of the perceived risk.

A 52-year-old woman interviewed in New York City, a Mexican in the country illegally, told The Associated Press she was motivated in January to drop a benefit that was supporting her teenage daughter, a U.S. citizen, purely because she was afraid of being in the food stamp system, which requires applicants to state their immigration status.

I had been told that its OK to apply for food stamps. But, for the moment, I dont want to take any risks, said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of her immigration status and was introduced to AP through an organization that helps immigrants, the Mexican Coalition of the South Bronx.

Note that this individual had been toldit is not clear by whomthat its OK to apply for food stamps. The AP, on the other hand, says the food stamp system requires applicants to state their immigration status. This is technically true, but highly misleading. The applicant is the child who is eligible for SNAP benefits, not the illegal alien parent or other relative who fills out the form. The U.S. Department of Agriculture makes it very clear that an illegal immigrant can apply for food stamps on behalf of an eligible personwho is, technically, the applicantwithout divulging anything about immigration status:

To ensure that only those who are eligible for SNAP receive the benefits they are eligible to receive, State agencies must verify the immigration status of only those individuals who are applying for SNAP benefits. State agencies are not required to verify the immigration status of anyone who is applying for SNAP on behalf of others in their household. For example, a non-citizen may choose to apply only for his or her U.S. citizen children in the household.

Under no circumstances may a State agency:

1) Require any information about the citizenship or immigration status of anyone who is not applying for SNAP;

2) Deny SNAP to applying household members because a non-applicant household member has not disclosed his or her citizenship or immigration status or Social Security number; or

3) Try to establish or verify immigration status through any means other than the procedures outlined below. DHS has primary responsibility to determine the status of non-citizens.

Why is this important?

Eligible persons have an entitlement to food assistance and the Food and Nutrition Act requires that State agencies provide fair service to applicants. Some applicants (typically eligible children in families where other adults are not eligible) cannot apply on their own. They depend on adult household members to secure assistance. States must be able to structure an application process that enables these members to apply for children without divulging information about their own immigration status.

It is hard to see how the federal government could make it any clearer, or what, exactly, the AP is complaining about.

The AP, to its credit, got a quote from Mark Krikorian:

Mark Krikorian, a well-known advocate for reducing immigration to the U.S., said their situation reflects the fact that many people who come to the country lack the skills to earn enough money here. It is an attempted moral blackmail to say If you Americans dont give me your money, I cant stay here and feed my children, he said. Well, its your choice. No one made you sneak into the United States.

The article contains this shocking statistic:

About 3.9 million citizen children living with noncitizen parents received food stamps in the 2015 fiscal year, the most recent available data, according to the Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program.

Some of those parents are legal residents, of course, but no doubt the large majority are not. So out of more than three million, the AP found two who have given up food stamps out of an excess of caution.

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AP Worries: Fewer Illegal Immigrants Getting Food Stamps - Power Line (blog)

AURORA| Aurora Public Schools board member Cathy Wildman pushed back Tuesday night against accusations that she had previously made racist comments as the school boardconsidered a measure created to aid some illegal immigrants and their families.

Claiming that immigrants make parts of America unsafe is a dangerous narrative that fuels hate, racial hierarchy and supremacy, Kristen Pough told school board members Tuesday night during the boards regular meeting. Pough is a 2012 Aurora Central High Schoolgraduate and now a political activist and member of the NAACP in Aurora. She and two current APS students told the school board that Wildman was out of line.

On May 16, the school board approved aresolution directing the school district to make plans to push back against federal immigration requests for information about the citizenship status of students or their families. The measure also calls for plans to be prepared for students whose families may be arrested by immigration police.

The measure passed, with Wildman voting for the resolution.

As board members commented on the policybefore voting, Wildman discussedher ambivalence over the measure because she said itaccommodated rule breakers, referring to illegal immigrants. She later talked about familymembers in Arizona who were warned off traveling to border communities because of safety issues created by tension over illegal immigration.

Aletter to the editor written last week to the Aurora Sentinel by a local political activist seized on the comments, criticizing Wildman for being racist and demeaning to illegal immigrants and all immigrants.

Tuesday, Wildman told the audience that her comments were misconstrued. During an at-times emotional speech, she did not apologize but said that she has always been fastidious about following rules and insisting others do, too.

I think it really was political and preparing for the next election, Wildman said after the meeting. My concern is Im being misinterpreted. I taught school for 40 years and never been accused of racism or the other words that were used.

Pough said she works withYoung Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism, and its director wasapproached by members of a Denver-based group called A-Plus Colorado, which advocates for education reform and school choice and charter schools. The group has issued critical audits of APSs performance.

Wildman, a career teacher, also highlightedthe Sentinel letter written by Republican Party strategist Tyler Sandberg, which pointed out her support of the Aurora teachers union and asking union members to call out Wildmans comments.She also called outan A-Plus Colorado blog post from May 19 critical of her comments and a portent toa political attack in preparation for the board elections this fall. Wildmans term, however, is up in 2019.

Liz Reetz , A-Plus Coloradosdistrict advocacy director, authored the blog post for the group. Reetz said characterizing her response to Wildmans comments as political was a way to distract from Wildmans lack of an apology.She reached out to other community groups to inform them of the chance to speak against Wildman so the APS board would know this issues wasnt going to be forgotten by the community.

Shes pitting us against the teachers union and saying its politically motivated to distract from her comments, Reetz said. Are we thinking about if Cathy Wildmanis serving kids well with thatattitude? Absolutely. ButI think itsa little bit ofa stretch to say its politically motivated.

Pouch and Reetzsaid the comments were offensive and the parts of the letter read to the audience showed that Wildman didnt understand the problems with her comments on May 16.

With a district that has a growing population of immigrants, especially immigrants attending innovation schools, that APS wants to fix, there is no room for disparaging and privileged comments, Poughtold the board.

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APS board member: Allegations she made racist remarks about illegal immigration policy are politically motivated - Aurora Sentinel

Vice President Mike Pence turned 58 Wednesday, June 7, 2017.(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

WASHINGTON Vice President Pence, who turned58 onWednesday, did his best to look surprised when greeted by balloons, streamers and a weak rendition of Happy Birthday as he boarded Air Force 2.

"What are you all doing?" Pence asked, according to a reporter on the plane. "This is out of control."

Pence was traveling to Houston to participate in NASAs announcement of its newest class of astronauts.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, as well as Reps. Brian Babin and Lamar Smith, joined him on the flight.

Before Pence arrived, an aide passed out brightly colored party hats. The middle section of the plane had been decorated with balloons and red, white and blue streamers. Federal regulations apparently prohibited any birthday candles.

The pool reporter covering the trip described Pence as responding to the scene in a combination of faux-surprise and subdued delight.

I feel 58 years young, Pence said as he posed for a photo with Cruz.

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Air Force 2 becomes a flying birthday party for Vice President Pence - USA TODAY

Congressman Luke Messer (left), Congressman Todd Rokita (center) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (right)(Photo: Star photo illustration)

Vice President Mike Pence's brother and other Pence associates are lining up behind one candidate in the GOP's effort to unseat U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, widely considered to be among the nation's most vulnerable Democrats.

U.S. Rep Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville,has the support of at least fivePence associates, including the vice president's brother Greg Pence,all of whom are on the congressman's state finance campaign committee.

Messer already isin a heated tussle for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate with U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Indianapolis, even though the primary election for that slot won't be until May 2018. Neither has officially announced his candidacy, but the two have been exchanging jabs in recent weeks.

While Vice President Pence himself has not endorsed a candidate, political scientists says the support of Pence associates is a good sign for Messer, who has steadily risen in the U.S. House to become the chamber's fifth-ranking Republican leader.

Its a very good sign, and its a sign that there may be an endorsement later on, said Andy Downs, a political scientist at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. The goal is to scare off other candidates if thats possible. I would say its not an uncommon move for a well-known person who wants to try to influence a race but not jump in with an official endorsement.

Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Pence, did not respond for comment on whether the vice president would endorse a candidate in the primary.

Pence: Poll says Trump is his own worst spokesman; Pence does better job

Among other well-known Republicans on Messer's finance committee areMarty Obst, the executive director of Pences gubernatorial campaign; Jim Kittle, Pences campaign finance chairman during that same time; Bill Smith, Pence's former chief of staff; and Bob Grand, the national finance chairman for Pences vice presidential campaign.

Steve Chancellor, who has hosted fundraisers for notable Republicans, including President Donald Trump, also is on the list.

Rokita's finance team has not been released yet, but will be led byDan Dumezich, a former GOP treasurer.

Tim Edson, a spokesman for Rokita, said it was "not surprising" to see Pence supporters on Messer's list.

"Messer represents the same district Pence did," Edson said."Luke Messer's finance committee and his fundraising make clear he is the candidate of the country club Republican elite in Indiana, D.C. and Wall Street including many of the same people who sat on their hands, or even opposed President Trump, even as Trump ran against Hillary Clinton."

According to Edson, Pence told Rokita he would remain "Switzerland" in the Senate race and not choose between Messer and Rokita.

Greg Pence and Kittlesaid they, and others, jumped on the finance team because they've known Messer for years, not to indicate Mike Pence's support.

"Luke has been my congressman. Ive been with him from thevery beginning," Greg Pence said of his involvement in the Messer campaign. "But I did run it by my brother and he did not have a problem with it."

Political scientists saythe implied support of Vice President Pence could help Messer in the primaries.

A finance committee is a very strong way to send a signal of who is on your side, and that is a meaningful signal for potential donors and other supportersto line up early on in the primary season, said Robert Dion, a political scientist at the University of Evansville.

Pence's support can carry a lot of weight in Indiana Republican politics.

He played a significant role in Gov. Eric Holcombs ascensionto governor after Pence dropped out of the gubernatorial race to join Trump on the national ballot. The decision on who would become the Republican gubernatorial candidate was left to the 22-member Indiana Republican State Committee.

Pence endorsed Holcomb in a letter to the committee saying there is no better individual to lead our state than Eric Holcomb. Prior to his endorsement U.S. Representative Susan Brooks, R-Carmel, appeared to be leading in terms of support from the committee. Rokita also sought the GOP nod for governor.

After Pences endorsement, the board chose Holcomb in a secret vote.

The upcoming Senate race isexpected to be highly contested, with Rokita, Messer and Donnelly already the target of TV and YouTube ads. One such ad called into question Rokita's and Messer's health care vote.

Most recently Rokita's spokesman accused Messer's campaign of planting a story about Rokita's use of a private airplane in response to an Associated Press story published in May about Messers wife making $20,000 per month as an attorney for Fishers.

More on the Senate race:

Mayor: Jennifer Messer's $20,000 a month legal contract is a bargain for Fishers

Democrats use health care vote against Hoosiers considering Senate run

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (812) 549-1429. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

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Vice President Mike Pence's brother, other allies supporting Luke Messer for US Senate - Indianapolis Star