Despite weeks of being asked the same question, Obama administration officials continue to refuse to answer how many illegal immigrant children have been caught crossing the border and released with a promise to appear in court. “…just to follow up on questions you were asked last week about the flow of children coming across the border with Mexico . . . ” Jon Karl of ABC News said to White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “You were asked and a number of other administration officials had been asked – how many of those that have been caught have been released with a promise to appear back in court? You didn’t have that number then and I’m asking if you have that number now?”

“I do not have that number in front of me, Jon,” he said in response during a Tuesday briefing.

“Why?” Karl shot back, according to CNS News. “It’s been asked everywhere. It’s a number the administration has, right? It’s not that you don’t have it. It’s that you don’t want to release it, right?”

Earnest fumbled around for an answer before finally saying, “I think we can all stipulate that that number is too high.”

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He continued with the standard Obama textbook line.

“And that’s why you have seen an investment, a surge, in fact, of resources by this administration to try to address what is a large and growing problem along our southern border,” Earnest said.

Naturally, though, he did find room to blame the GOP.

“So if we really wanted to solve this problem, one good way to do it would be for those Republicans to get on board and do what so many Republicans did in the United States Senate, which is support common-sense immigration reform,” Earnest said.

When facing the same questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson couldn’t say how many illegal immigrant children had shown up for status hearings.

“I do know that unaccompanied children in removal proceedings are, in fact, removed,” he said, but he could not offer a percentage, as requested.

Watch a clip here via CNSNews.