Speech #1140073695

Shockingly. Health and Human Services is releasing many of these children to sponsors who have been convicted of serious crimes. including human trafficking. sexual exploitation. and violent offenses. Instead of using commonsense procedures as we see in place. for example. in international adoptions. including extensive background checks. thorough interviews. and multiple home visits to make sure a child is being placed in a safe and secure situation. the placement process for these migrant children is riddled with loopholes for those who want to exploit it. and unfortunately there are evil people who want to exploit it and take advantage of these innocent children. Some who may not have been following this issue may wonder: Why are we taking these children who are illegally entering the country and actually placing them with nonfamily member sponsors who havent been vetted? The problem is that under current law. the Border Patrol cannot turn back people who enter the country illegally from noncontiguous countries. We can from Mexico. we can from Canada. but we cant if they come from a Central American country. So that is why they have to process them and get a placement for them as they issue a summons to them and say: You have a court date in front of an immigration judge in 3 months or 6 months or a year that is going to determine whether you have a legal basis upon which to stay in the United States. Lo and behold. this should come as a surprise to no one. The vast majority of these people who illegally enter the country in this way never show up for their immigration hearing in front of a judge to determine whether they have a legal basis to stay. Indeed. because the Obama administration and ICEImmigration and Customs Enforcement that is responsible for enforcing our immigration lawsbecause they simply have quit enforcing our laws once people enter the country. unless of course you have been arrested for some serious crime. this is actually a way to thread the needle and to beat the system and to succeed in illegally stayingimmigrating and then staying in the United States. Here again today I wish to focus on once these children are here. and I would think every person with a heart would want to say: Well. we have a responsibility to take care of them. at least until we can return them back home. So I am grateful to the junior Senator from Ohio.