[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4882-S4883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Family Separation

  Mr. President, I wish to reflect on some other children. I wish to 
reflect on the 3,000 children forcibly removed from their parents' arms 
at the borders of the United States of America over the last several 
months. These children were victims of the zero tolerance policy of the 
Trump administration--a policy which Attorney General Sessions 
announced that resulted in those who appeared at the border, whether or 
not they were there for legitimate claims of asylum, being treated as 
criminals, and, treated as criminals, their children were removed from 
them.
  I met with some of those children. It was 2 weeks ago in Chicago. It 
was at one of the agencies that the Department of Health and Human 
Services has used for decades to provide safe care for children who are 
unaccompanied at our border. Historically, those children came to the 
borders of United States without an adult, but in this circumstance, 
there were 66 children in Chicago who fit a different definition. While 
at the border, they were actually removed by the U.S. Government from 
the arms of their parents. Of the 66 children in the Chicago facility, 
22--one-third of them--were under the age of 5. It is an important fact 
to keep in mind as we consider what has happened.

  I come to the floor to speak about the Trump administration's 
shameful policy of forcibly removing innocent children from their 
parents. Since our Nation's tragic failure during World War II to 
rescue Jewish refugees who fled Hitler, generations of Americans and 
leaders of both political parties--Republicans and Democrats--have 
tried to set an example for the world by providing safe haven to the 
world's most vulnerable people.
  Ask the Cuban Americans which country opened its doors for them when 
they tried to escape the communism of Fidel Castro. It was the United 
States of America, and we are better for it. Three Members of the U.S. 
Senate are Cuban Americans who can trace their lineages to that refugee 
flow from the island to our shores.
  Ask the Soviet Jews, who were persecuted under Soviet rule and who 
finally found freedom of religion and opportunity here in the United 
States, whether the U.S. refugee policy was good for them. Of course, 
it was, and it was good for America.
  Ask those who came out of Vietnam, who stood by our side during that 
bloody war and came to this country as refugees to escape persecution, 
whether that was the right choice for them. It was, and it was the 
right choice for America, most certainly.
  Now we face the worst refugee crisis in history, and what is the 
United States of America's official policy? The Trump administration is 
doing everything in its power to prevent innocent victims of war and 
terrorism from even seeking safe haven in our country.
  The Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and 
Guatemala are the sources of the vast majority of migrants who arrive 
at our southern border. These people are driven to our borders by 
horrific gang and sexual violence. What is at the root cause of that 
violence? It is the appetite for narcotics in the United States. It is 
the drug money that flows south from our border into Mexico and Central 
America. It is the firearms that flow by the thousands into South and 
Central America from the United States of America. This creates these 
gangs and creates these cartels that bring such violence on local 
people.
  These countries have among the highest homicide rates in the world. 
Girls face a constant threat of sexual violence and rape and have 
little protection from local authorities. Is it any wonder that in 
desperation so many of them seek our shores and seek our country for 
the safety of their kids? This is why families are taking extraordinary 
risks to flee to our border. Any parent would do the same to save a 
child.
  What has been the Trump administration's response to these families

[[Page S4883]]

who flee for their lives and to the mothers and fathers who try to 
protect their girls from sexual violence and rape?
  On April 6, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump 
administration had adopted a new zero tolerance approach in prosecuting 
border cases, making family separation the official policy of the 
United States of America. It declares that all who present themselves 
at our borders, even those who legitimately seek asylum, are to be 
treated as criminals.
  The goal is clear. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said that 
separating families is a ``tough deterrent'' to parents who flee 
persecution. Kelly also dismissed any concerns because ``the children 
will be taken care of--put into foster care or whatever.''
  Under this harsh and harmful policy, thousands of children have been 
forcibly removed from their parents by our government. They have been 
transferred to facilities all over the country, often thousands of 
miles away from their parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics and 
the American Medical Association have condemned this Trump policy. In 
the starkest terms, the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics 
has called it ``government-sanctioned child abuse.''
  Two weeks ago, on June 26, a Federal court in California mercifully 
stepped in. Judge Dana Sabraw was appointed to the Federal bench by 
Republican President George W. Bush. Judge Sabraw held that these 
family separations result in ``irreparable harm.'' He ordered the 
children who were separated by the Trump administration under the zero 
tolerance policy be returned to their parents within 30 days and within 
14 days for those kids who were under the age of 5.
  The Trump administration has tried to paint a rosy picture of the 
situation. On June 26, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar 
testified to the Senate Committee on Finance: ``Every parent has access 
to know where their child is.'' Secretary Azar said: ``There is no 
reason why any parent would not know where their child is located.'' He 
also claimed that HHS had 2,047 separated children in custody. Last 
Thursday, Secretary Azar admitted that, actually, ``up to 3,000`` 
separated kids are still in its custody. As has been documented in 
numerous heartbreaking reports, many parents of the separated kids 
still do not know where their children are, and their attempts to 
contact them have been unsuccessful.
  Yesterday was the deadline imposed by Judge Sabraw for reuniting 
children under the age of 5. What did we learn? The Trump 
administration notified the court that it had identified 102 separated 
children under the age of 5 and that only 4 of those 102 children would 
be reunited before the deadline. The administration only has concrete 
plans to reunite about half of these 100 children. It has made no 
effort to contact 12 parents whom the government deported, and it can't 
even identify the parents of one toddler. We still don't know the fate 
of thousands of other children who are supposed to be reunited in just 
a few days.
  This is an outrage. This is a toxic mix of cruelty and incompetence. 
The Trump administration continues to try to shift the blame for this 
humanitarian crisis to Congress and the courts, but Judge Sabraw said 
that this is a ``chaotic circumstance of the government's own making.'' 
He went on to say yesterday, as reported in the New York Times, that 
these are firm deadlines and not aspirational goals--admonishing the 
government.
  In another Federal courtroom, the administration's real plan was made 
clear. Because of the backlash from the courts and the public, it is no 
longer separating families. Instead, this administration wants to jail 
these families indefinitely. Experts tell us that separation is child 
abuse, that jail is no place for children, and that even short-term 
detention can do permanent damage to a child's health and well-being.
  The administration asked the Federal district court to set aside the 
Flores settlement--a legally binding agreement to protect the best 
interests of kids that has been in place for over two decades. On 
Monday, the Federal court rejected the Trump administration's request, 
saying it was ``wholly without merit.'' According to media reports, the 
Trump administration plans to appeal, and it is asking Congress to pass 
legislation to overturn the Flores agreement. Instead of putting social 
workers to work in reuniting families and children, the Trump 
administration wants to lawyer up so that it can be spared from the 
standards that Democratic and Republican administrations have faced in 
the humane treatment of children.
  The Trump administration's goal is clear. In the midst of the world's 
worst refugee crisis, it wants to make the situation for families who 
flee persecution as painful as possible in order to deter them from 
seeking safe haven.
  Let me be clear. This Senator will do everything in his power to stop 
legislation that would authorize the Trump administration to put 
migrant children in jail. It is immoral. It is shameful. It is un-
American. I call on my colleagues--Republicans and Democrats--to join 
me in opposing the Trump administration's cruel immigration policy.
  I yield the floor.