Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about children and to talk about children around the world, here at home, and I guess what is most on many Americans' minds because of the visuals that they have…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about children and to talk about children around the world, here at home, and I guess what is most on many Americans' minds because of the visuals that they have seen, unaccompanied children coming into my State, the State of Texas.
I was down at the border some weeks ago, maybe just 2 weeks ago, and I looked at the reality of what many people see on television, and what I looked at was impoverished, frightened children, 12 years and under, children with diapers, children who were frightened and without their parents.
In addition, I saw the lovingness of volunteers from Catholic Charities to save the children, to many residents in the border community reaching out and helping.
Now, we are about to engage in a debate based upon the President's recommendation of what they need to humanely treat these children. Frankly, I believe that many in America have gotten the wrong information through various excerpts and commentaries that have been made by people who are uninformed.
I am very glad in Houston, on this past weekend, we had over 80 religious leaders from all denominations, communities, people who drove into Houston from counties way beyond Houston, all standing up and acknowledging their commitment to the humane treatment of children. They were from diverse backgrounds. They were ethnically diverse and racially diverse, as I said, religiously diverse.
Ministers like Dr. Terrance Grant Malone and Dr. Freddie Haynes, Dr. John Ogletree, Dr. D.Z. Cofield, pastors from Faith Temple, I believe, in Polk County--if I have it correct--and individuals from the United Methodist Church, Catholic Charities, Episcopal Church, people who are in the midst of Ramadan from the Islamic Muslim faith, all ready to help these children--that is the America that all of us know.
That is the America that the Statue of Liberty stands in the harbor of New York and has said, over the years, to bring me your forlorn.
That is the same America who can stand alongside of Jordan, who is taking thousands and thousands of Syrians; or Turkey, that is taking thousands upon thousands of Syrians--not the America who listens to the fears and wrong information about disease.
These children are medically checked, but if you will check the documents, you will find that, in spite of the poverty, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala immunizes at least 90 to 95 percent of their children; but yet we doublecheck, and we immunize again.
So I think it is important to understand that this law that has, in actuality, been at the center point of my friends on the other side of the aisle wanting to change, with the introduction now of the humane law, is a law that should stay in place and that we should give children of any country, contiguous or noncontiguous, at least due process rights because these are children who in actuality have fled violence or human trafficking or sex trafficking and they are sometimes unable to articulate that in a short period of time.
They need counsel, and they need courts that understand. To rush through the decision, to have a court make a decision in 72 hours is absolutely absurd and impossible.
To only increase immigration judges by 40, I have introduced H.R. 4940 that increases immigration judges by 70. At this point, immigration judges have 1,660 per court versus a district court that has less than 500 cases, and they are overwhelmed. There is no way that you can process these children presently, and the expedited proceedings are not going to work.
Where is our claim to due process for these children? I look forward to working deliberatively, having these children in the process that they are in. By the way, they are in a deportation process. They are not just here to stay.
Putting them in a humane condition, debunking the myth of disease, and having these children go and find that these children will appear in court by having lawyers and enforcing the border with the border security bill, H.R. 1417, that this House and this House leadership refuses to put on the floor of the House, which passed over almost 2 years ago.
If you want border security, pass the border security bill that we have written.
Finally, Mr. Speaker I want to care about American children. The violence must stop. I want to work with those who are being shot by guns across America. Let's stop the gun violence.
We need a Marshall Plan for the children who are being shot by guns in our country. Care for children all over the world.
