[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 93 (Wednesday, June 6, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E783-E784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WHY WE MUST CEASE AND DESIST THE CRUEL AND INHUMANE PRACTICE OF THE 
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OF SEPARATING FAMILIES APPREHENDED ON THE SOUTHERN 
                      BORDER BY U.S. BORDER PATROL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 6, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon the President 
and the Congress of the United States to act without delay regarding 
the ``zero-tolerance'' policy that separates families apprehended on 
the southern border by U.S. Border Patrol.

[[Page E784]]

  As the Founder and Chair of the Children's Caucus and as a parent and 
grandparent, I cannot think of a situation more devastating than having 
the government forcibly separate a parent from her child to a place 
unknown, for a fate uncertain, absent any form of communication.
  Everyday, hundreds of persons, ranging from infants and toddlers to 
adolescents and adults, flee violence, oppression, and economic 
desperation from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, seeking safe 
harbor in the United States.
  They are not criminals or terrorists, they are refugees seeking 
asylum.
  While they hope to receive asylum, none of us expected that they 
would be treated as criminals or that their children would be forcibly 
separated from them.
  But shamefully that is exactly what is happening under this 
Administration.
  A recent audit of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services shows that more than 7,600 
children have been forcibly separated from their parents after crossing 
the U.S. border.
  Unconscionably, this cruel and unnecessary practice has resulted in 
the shameful fact that DHS cannot account for the 1,475 immigrant 
children.
  The Trump Administration's practice of separating children from their 
parents inexplicably turns accompanied children into unaccompanied 
children, with all the attendant risks and dangers, which now must 
include human trafficking because over 1,000 children cannot be 
accounted for by this Administration.
  It is a documented fact that if young children are traumatically 
removed from their parents, their physical and mental health and well-
being will suffer.
  The effects of these traumatic experiences--especially in children 
who have already faced serious adversity--are unlikely to be short 
lived and can last a lifetime.
  The Trump Administration's ``zero-tolerance'' policy does not make 
our nation safer or more secure, nor is it a solution to the problem of 
illegal immigration and refugees seeking asylum.
  It is, however, monstrously cruel, inhumane, and shameful and makes a 
mockery of America's reputation as the most welcoming and generous 
nation on earth.
  The last time this nation had policies that promoted the forcible 
separation of children from newly arrived persons was slavery.
  A dark chapter in this nation's history that we should not revisit.
  Today the parents of these thousands of children once removed from 
the U.S. will do nothing less than to find ways to reunite with their 
children, even under the threat of imprisonment.
  A second attempt to enter the U.S. will be threatened by a federal 
criminal offense punishable by prison.
  It would be unconscionable to prosecute parents under these 
circumstances.
  There must be strong and aggressive congressional oversight of this 
Administration's immigration enforcement.
  The federal government policy regarding legislation should not to 
create greater fear for families already traumatized by intolerable 
conditions in their countries.
  U.S. immigration policy should not deter refugees from seeking asylum 
within our borders.
  We should welcome mothers carrying their babies to a safe haven and 
assure safety of children.
  As we have seen with the recent volcanic activity and earthquakes in 
Guatemala, we should be seeking ways to help our neighbors in the 
Southern Hemisphere.
  The Trump Administration is utterly failing in its basic duty to 
treat all persons with dignity and compassion, and is making a mockery 
of our national values and reputation as a champion of human rights.
  This crisis is not just an immigration matter nor is it just a 
foreign policy matter.
  It is a humanitarian crisis, executed by an administration that 
purports to be the champion of `family values' but whose actions do not 
value families.
  We are a great country with a long and noble tradition of providing 
sanctuary to the persecuted and oppressed.
  And it is in that spirit that we should act.
  We can do it; after all, we are Americans.

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