Speech #1130112944

I have visited the border and seen the children that this bill intends to help. This bill offers to little in funding to address the need that over 50 states are attempting to address by providing shelter and assistance to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who are now living in our country. This bill does too little to actually help the thousands of children who are awaiting immigration hearings. They are victims of human trafficking. sexual violence. and witnesses to murders as well as acts of violence against other children who took that dangerous trek to the United States. We should be focused on learning what they know and what they experienced to be sure the guilty are found and punished. I offered. along with several other members of the House amendments in attempts to improve the bill. but all were rejected by the Rules Committee. which chose to place H.R. 5230 before the House in the form of a closed rule. The Jackson Lee Amendment would have authorized designated federal agencies to reimburse State and local governments and private nonprofit organizations for the costs incurred in providing psychological counseling. housing. education. medicine and medical care. food and water. clothes. personal hygiene and other in dispensable consumables. other human services in response to the humanitarian crisis on the Southwest Border. This Congress has had the Senates version of a Comprehensive Immigration reform bill for nearly a year. without accomplishing the task of taking up the issue and passing a House version. Our nations immigration system is broken and needs reform. but the only attempt at addressing immigration into the United States is this bill that is being presented as an appropriations bill. H.R. 5230 is not an appropriations bill it is an immigration reform bill. which covers the jurisdictions of the two committees I serve onthe House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. Neither of these committees were given the opportunity to hold hearings or make the needed changes to the bill to make sure it conforms with long standing policies relating to unaccompanied minor or issues related to refugees. The Jackson Lee amendment would have helped nonprofits. local and state governments in all of the 50 states who are now providing assistance to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors within the United States. The message has gotten to families in El Salvador. Honduras. and Guatemala. Parents are no longer sending their children to the United States once they learned of the dangers and the prospects for their children surviving the journey without becoming victims of human trafficking. Over twothirds of the language in H.R. 5230 will make significant changes in existing law or creates new law regarding immigration policy without going through the committees of jurisdiction such as the House Committees on Homeland Security. Judiciary. and Foreign Affairs. H.R. 5230 contains too much language that is legislative such as: The bill makes significant changes to 2008 trafficking victims protection act. This change will subject all children to the initial screening process that now applies only to children from Mexico and Canada. erects a new expedited immigration court screening for any children who pass the initial screening. prohibits administrative appeals from children ordered removed through the new expedited process. requires detention of certain children who demonstrate a credible fear of persecution throughout the pendency of their asylum proceedings. establishes new. high burdens of proof. and sets up a principle of "Last In. First Out" in the adjudication process. The bill prohibits the secretaries of the interior and agriculture from impeding. denying. or restricting the activities of U.S. customs and border protection on federal land located within 100 miles of the U.S./Mexico borderThis issue has already been addressed. Both Interior and Agriculture have existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and all these agencies. as well as the GAO. have testified that these agreements are working and that federal land management laws and activities do not impair border security. The bill provides too few emergency immigration judgesthe bill only requires the Department of Justice to designate up to 40 temporary immigration judges within 14 days of enactment of this legislation. Then the bill permits hiring of retired judges or magistrate judges. or the reassignment of current immigration judges. to conduct expedited hearings for unaccompanied alien children to try to meet the new requirement that their cases be heard within 7 days of being screened by DHS officials. The bill undermines a long standing policy reparging asylumH.R. 5230 Prohibits anyone believed to have been convicted outside the U.S. of any drugrelated offense punishable by a prison term of more than a year from being granted asylum. The bill makes the wrong decision on border security by sending the national guard support for border operationsH.R. 5230 would deploy National Guard under Title 32 Status. National Guard troops with this change may be assigned duties as deemed necessary to provide assistance in operations. with priority given to high traffic areas experiencing the highest number of crossing by unaccompanied children. The bill denies safe shelter to children through its sense of congressthe states that the Secretary of Defense should not be allowed to shelter unaccompanied children or other migrants unless certain conditions are met. These children have found the compassion and love of thousands of Americans founds in the states of Texas. Alabama.