Speech #1130113236

In fact. I think it is probably more than one cause. I think perhaps it is the Presidents statements that he is going to defer action or refuse to enforce our current immigration laws against a certain class of immigrants that is known as the Presidents deferred executive action order of 2012. But there is also another cause that has been recognized on a bipartisan basis. and this is a 2008 human trafficking law that passed essentially unanimously in 2008. because we were focused on one problem. that is. human trafficking. but the unexpected consequences or unintended consequences of that created a business model that is being exploited by the transnational criminal organizations. or cartels. as they traffic in human beings coming from Central America through Mexico up to the Texas border. Together with my colleague in the House. HENRY CUELLAR. a Democrat. we have introduced a bipartisan. bicameral reform. something we call the HUMANE Act. and it has been cosponsored by people who have supported the socalled Gang of 8 bill in the Senate and people who opposed the Gang of 8 bill. I raise that point to note that this isnt about comprehensive immigration reform. We have a lot of work to be done. But this is actually intended to solve this immediate problem right in front of our eyes and to stop this hemorrhaging on our southwestern border. My hope is once we address that problem. we can come together in a bipartisan way and address the larger defects in our immigration system. of which there are many. This is. simply put. an attempt to tackle a national emergency. Let me briefly recapitulate what I am talking about. Since October of last year 57.000 unaccompanied children have been detained on the southwestern border. Under current lawthis 2008 law I mentionedthese children are processed by the Border Patrol and they are placed with the Department of Health and Human Services. as it turns out an average of 35 days. and then placed with a family member in the United States or. if not a family member. some sponsor. Part of the problem is that they are given a notice to appear at a future court hearing and very few of them appear. Thus. they are successful in making their way from Honduras. El Salvador. or Guatemala up through Mexico into the United States. and end up successfully immigrating to the United States illegally. outside of our broken immigration system. What we need to do in order to fix that gap in the law. that loophole which was unintended by those of us who voted to pass the 2008 law. is to require that these children be held in protective custody and given a speedy hearing in front of an immigration judge for those who want to make the claim for asylum or some other relief. But the truth is the vast majority of these children. like the adults. will not have a claim to stay under existing law and our bill doesnt change that existing law. But for those who do. they have a speedy opportunity to appear in front of a judge and make that claim.