Mr. President. I thank all of my colleagues who have been vocal about their commitment to address the Central American refugee crisis along our southern border. We have heard the stories of unimaginable violence. of corruption. of instability in places such as Honduras. El Salvador. and Guatemalafactors that are driving many children to the United States and to other neighboring countries in Central America. In some cases these children are literally fleeing for their lives. Our Nation has responded with a spectrum of attitudes toward immigrants ranging from hostile to downright hospitable. It is my hope that our attitude as a nation continues to be defined by the image of the Statue of Liberty and not by shouting protesters holding signs labeled "Return to Sender" as they stand in front of buses full of Central American children. I recently received a letter from a constituent in my home State of New Mexico whose grandmother. as a result of extreme poverty. left her family and emigrated by herself to the United States from Ireland at the age of 14 at the end of World War I. Brendan said that when he was growing up. his grandmother frequently shared this Irish proverb with him. She said. "Courage is the trust that your feet will bring you to where your heart is." Brendan asked that I continue to remind my colleagues that the immigrants who arrive at our borders come by foot following their hearts and do so in the hope of building a better life. Last week I sat down with Ambassadors from Honduras. El Salvador. and Guatemala. and we discussed how our Nations approach to stemming the influx of unaccompanied children to the United States must be collaborative and get at the root cause of the dire situation in these countries.
Keywords matched
emigrated immigrants refugee