Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the provision of a basic standard of humanitarian care to all individuals in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody.

Mr. Speaker, two names have been lost in months of government shutdowns and threats of national emergencies: Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gomez Alonzo. Those were the children who died in December while in the custody of our Federal Government.

Let me tell you a bit about Jakelin's story and how, in the next 48 hours, we will take a historic first step to forever change how our Nation treats children fleeing violence.

Jakelin Caal Maquin was 7 years old. She joined her father in fleeing the extreme danger and poverty of her village, San Antonio Secortez in Guatemala. Together, they dreamed of new opportunities, of new safety, of a home free from violence and discrimination where they could build a life and support their loved ones at home.

Jakelin and her father chose the same destination that asylum seekers, immigrants, and refugees have sought for centuries: the United States of America.

But the conditions I saw at the Border Patrol facilities where Jakelin and her father were held were not worthy of our American ideals. The conditions did not demonstrate respect for the human dignity of the individuals in our Federal Government's care.

Look, I am a doctor. I know what a functioning emergency medical response protocol looks like and how it should operate, and this was not it.

I saw women, infants, toddlers, and the elderly packed and even piled on top of each other, open toilets in crowded cells without any privacy, visibly sick people, children coughing on one another, and I immediately saw that the Border Patrol agents did not have the resources to respond to a life-threatening medical emergency.

Mr. Speaker, let me put this into perspective. I traveled to Haiti days after the devastating 2010 earthquake, where I served as the medical director of the country's largest camp of internally displaced people. The conditions I saw at the New Mexico Border Patrol facilities were worse than those I saw in Haiti, the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, after their most challenging and devastating disaster.

Here we are, the greatest nation on our planet, and we are putting children in cages and denying them free access to food, water, and a private toilet.

Then and there, I committed myself to creating humanitarian standards that are worthy of human dignity: real solutions, not empty promises, that will save the lives of children at the border.

I introduced legislation that makes it clear Congress expects CBP to implement three crucial reforms as soon as possible:

First, provide meaningful medical examinations of individuals entering our borders. A basic physical exam would have shown warning signs of Jakelin's septic shock and most probably saved her life. A child who dies from septic shock does not look normal 8 hours beforehand.

Second, invest in essential medical equipment and trained medical personnel available to respond to life-threatening emergencies. When medical care is far away, agents need the resources, equipment, and knowledge to care for each other and the individuals in their custody.

Third, provide basic humane living conditions that are safe and hygienic, where individuals can access adequate food, water, and showers.

These are straightforward reforms. They move us closer to a system that is safe, humane, and aligns with our fundamental ideals as Americans.

Our work is not done, but we have reached an important milestone. We are beginning to address the humanitarian crisis at our border, not with rhetoric and political showboating or grandstanding, but with real, life-saving solutions.

This week, we will not just pass a bill that averts a government shutdown; we will pass a bill that provides funding for, and holds CBP accountable to, implementing the humanitarian standards included in my legislation, H. Con. Res. 17. These reforms will save lives and help restore our legacy as a nation that recognizes the dignity and fundamental rights of every human being.

So, Mr. Speaker, I will speak the names of those two children again: Felipe Gomez Alonzo and Jakelin Caal Maquin. We must have the courage to recognize their humanity.