Speech #1130112451

Unless any of my colleagues think this problem will just go away. let me remind everyone some of the projections are that if we dont do anything to deal with the causes or deal with the remedy to this growing humanitarian problem. it will get worse. Indeed. some estimates are that as many as 90.000 unaccompanied minors will come this year alone. and the number could well rise to 145.000 next year. That would tend to track the historical trend we have seenboth the combination of the impression that the Obama administration is less than serious about enforcing our immigration laws. as well as this loophole in the 2008 human trafficking law that is being exploited by the cartels which is helping them make money. This is part of their business model because they charge by the head. by the child. by the person. and then they bring them through these smuggling corridors from Central America. through Mexico. into South Texas. It is a great business model for them. The problem is it is a horrific experience for the immigrants who subject themselves to the tender mercies of the cartels that care nothing about them as human beings. They rape the women. kidnap the migrants. and then hold them for ransom. We knowbecause of the perils of that journey on the top of that train called The Beastthat many immigrants are severely injured. some losing limbs. and others are killed or die from exposure as a result of the process from Central America. I say to my colleagues who think doing nothing is an option that people are losing their lives. people are being injured. and women are being assaulted. These migrants are being held for ransom and kidnapped. It is not compassionate to allow this to continue. but that is what illegal immigration looks like in 2014. For those people who come into the country legally. they obviously dont have to turn themselves over to the cartelsthese transnational criminal organizations that traffic in drugs and people. These drug cartels are despicable and they will prey on these migrants and those who want to come to the United States. As long as it happens outside of the legal system. they are going to continue to be victimized. About 1 month ago the President said: "The problem is that under current law. once these kids come across the border. theres a system in which were supposed to process them. take care of them. until we can send them back." That is what the President of the United States said 1 month ago. Of course he was referring to a 2008 law that I referenced earlier and has been talked about a number of times. This was a law that was passed by essentially unanimous consent and acclimation. It was a human trafficking law. but unfortunately what we didnt know at the time is that the creative minds of the cartels would learn to exploit a loophole in the law. which treats migrants. particularly unaccompanied children. from contiguous countries differently than we treat migrant children coming from Mexico. Specifically what happens is they are released after being processed by the Border Patrol. and they are given a notice to appear at a future court date. They are then released into the custody of a family member. many of whom are not legally present in the United States themselves. What we have seen from experience is that many of them dont show up for their court hearings. We dont have sufficient resources committed to make sure people do appear. so they melt into the great American landscape and have essentially succeeded in coming to the United Statesoutside of our legal immigration systemand staying here. As long as this loophole continues to exist. they will keep coming. The President was referring to this human trafficking statute that has become an effective magnet for illegal immigration. and it is not just children who are taking advantage of it. I talked to the Secretary of Homeland Security yesterday morning. We have seen a huge surge in parents with young children as well. They are exploiting the same loophole because we dont have adequate detention facilities to keep them safe pending any court hearing and pending repatriation back to their country of origin unless they have a valid claim for asylum or some other claim for immigration relief. The loophole that is in the 2008 law is effectively part of the cartel business model. We have colleagues who believe the compassionate response is to do nothing to close that loophole. and I hope they will come to understand it is the opposite of compassion to allow this loophole to exist and allow the cartels to continue to use these children and other migrants as a commodity by smuggling them into the United States. This situation has also overloaded the capacity of many of our local communities that have big hearts and want to treat these migrants. particularly the children. with compassion. but they have become overwhelmed. We have seen. as these children have been warehoused in other parts of the country. many communities are starting to feel the backlash. While people have big hearts and believe we ought to try to help people in need. particularly children. they realize that ultimately they are the ones who will have to pick up the tab for health care. education. and the like. They are also concerned about whether they will actually be able to assimilate these immigrants. which has always been the American way. and the way we have done that is through legal immigration and an orderly immigration process which complies with the rule of law. We are a nation of immigrants and we should be proud of that. but we should not be proud of this uncontrolled flow of people coming into the country. exploiting this gap in the 2008 law. making money for the cartels. and exposing these migrants to horrific treatment. some of whom dont even make it here. We should not consider that compassion. it is not. It is the opposite of compassion.