[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 499 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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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