[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 499 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 499
Condemning the Trump Administration's systematic cruel and inhumane
treatment of migrants, particularly children, at the southern border.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 17, 2019
Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Bass, Mr. Beyer, Mr.
Cardenas, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr.
Cicilline, Mr. Clay, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs.
Dingell, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Engel, Ms. Escobar,
Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans, Mr. Foster, Mr. Gallego, Ms.
Garcia of Texas, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Ms.
Haaland, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Khanna,
Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Lewis, Mr.
Lowenthal, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr.
Neguse, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Mr. Payne, Mr. Pocan,
Ms. Porter, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Rush, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms.
Tlaib, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Schneider, Mr.
Perlmutter, Mr. Suozzi, and Mrs. Kirkpatrick) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the Trump Administration's systematic cruel and inhumane
treatment of migrants, particularly children, at the southern border.
Whereas the Trump Administration began a ``zero tolerance'' policy in the summer
of 2017, officially announced in the spring of 2018, that led to family
separations totaling nearly 3,000 children taken from their parents or
caregivers;
Whereas Trump's ``zero tolerance'' policies have resulted in preverbal children,
children as young as 4 months, being separated from their families, some
of whom have been kept in cages, many forced to sleep on the floor, and
most held in cells with the lights on 24 hours a day;
Whereas there have been numerous reports of children being forced to take care
of other children in lieu of proper adult supervision;
Whereas at least seven children are known to have died in immigration custody
since 2018, after nearly a decade in which no child reportedly died
while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP);
Whereas pursuant to a 2018 court order in Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the Department of Health and Human Services has identified
2,737 children who were separated from their families with a full
understanding that the Department of Health and Human Services lacked
the system to reunite families;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services' identification of 2,737
children is not a complete accounting of the total number of children
who have been separated from their families, as thousands were not
included in the lawsuit and more than 700 separations have occurred
since the 2018 court order;
Whereas there is still no integrated interagency system to properly track or
share information about separated families;
Whereas the Trump administration has repeatedly incited fear in immigrant
communities around the country, most recently with the threat of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids after the July 4 holiday;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services'
Office of Refugee and Resettlement released 86 percent of children in
custody to a sponsor: 42 percent of which were to parents, 47 percent of
which were to close relatives, and 11 percent of which were to distant
relatives or nonrelatives;
Whereas the Trump administration has denied immigrants the legal right to seek
asylum by forcing immigrants to enter the United States at a port of
entry and also denied some at ports of entry due to metering policies,
forcing them into more dangerous routes;
Whereas, in January 2019, the Trump administration defied international law and
implemented an unprecedented immigration policy intended to limit the
influx of asylum-seekers by forcing them to remain in Mexico while they
await United States court proceedings, and Federal officials have
returned more than 15,000 people to Mexico this year under this policy
despite widespread congressional opposition;
Whereas 24 immigrants have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) custody during the Trump administration;
Whereas ICE is detaining approximately 54,000 immigrants, well above the number
of detention beds authorized by Congress;
Whereas there is a need for increased humanitarian standards to ensure humane
conditions for those in CBP and ICE custody;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General found that
migrants are being held in cells designed for one-fifth as many
detainees as were housed there;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General found
``egregious violations'' at two detention centers it inspected,
including nooses in detainee cells, inadequate medical care, rotten
food, and other conditions that endangered detainee health;
Whereas investigations have found that ICE routinely places immigrants who have
mental illnesses, medical issues, or are members of the LGBTQ community
in solitary confinement;
Whereas Trump administration attorneys argued in June 2019 that it is ``safe and
sanitary'' to confine children in facilities without soap or
toothbrushes and to make them sleep on concrete floors under bright
lights;
Whereas the Trump administration recently moved 300 children out of a CBP
detention facility in Clint, Texas, after reports that they were being
held without proper sanitation, food, and water, but one day later, they
moved 100 children back into the facility; and
Whereas the conditions perpetrated on the southern border inflict physical and
psychological damage on our most vulnerable populations that will have
long lasting repercussions and do not reflect what the United States
stands for: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives formally condemns the
Trump Administration's systematic cruel and inhumane treatment of
migrants, particularly children, at the southern border.
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