Speech #1130113837

First. the Presidents catchandrelease program is a big part of the problem. Under this program. nearly 90 percent of unaccompanied alien children have been placed with their families in the United States. many of whom are here illegally themselves. Second. there is the Presidents DACA program. DACA is a major reason for the influx of illegal immigrants to the United States. The Director on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently testified to the Judiciary Committee that 700.000 undocumented immigrants have taken advantage of DACA. Third. there is the 2008 trafficking law. which has allowed so many to effectively skip out on the judicial process and live in our country illegally. Catch and release under the Presidents proposal is wrong and bad for our country. and only encourages many. many more to continue the trek here. Combined. these policies. plus signals from the administration. encouraged more illegal immigration and have led to the border crisis that we face today. To stop this crisis. our border must be secured and the tide of illegal immigration should be stemmed. I believe that this rule provides for legislation to accomplish that goal. H.R. 5230 would provide $659 million for border security. the enforcement of existing laws. illegal immigration prevention. and humanitarian assistance. Additionally. $70 million would be provided for National Guard border efforts. This proposal is paid for. which means that it does not result in any new or additional Federal spending this fiscal year. However. the House will not simply throw money at the problem. This package also makes specific. concrete policy changes to address the underlying problems that are fueling this crisis. Specifically. it prevents the administration from spending taxpayer dollars to adjudicate any new applications under DACA or any other similar policy. The package also amends the 2008 trafficking law so that all unaccompanied alien children are treated the same as. under the law today. Mexicans and Canadians. and this is for the purpose of removals. It also provides additional temporary judges to help guarantee that these children get their day in court within 14 days from their initial screening. It also strengthens laws against criminals and those with serious drugrelated convictions and those who have them from applying for asylum. It allows for customs and border protection activities on Federal land. Similarly. it authorizes the deployment of the National Guard to our southern border. Finally. it prohibits the housing of unauthorized immigrants on military bases if housing them would displace members of the Armed Forces or any Active Duty or it interferes with military activity. These steps come after a series of conversations with members of the majority. We have an obligation to get this bill done.