[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 117 (Thursday, July 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4928-S4929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act

  Mr. President, on a separate note, I want to address the situation 
unfolding on the U.S.-Mexico border. As of 7 o'clock this morning, we 
heard that the Trump administration has now complied with a court order 
and completed the reunification of those children under the age of 5 
who immigrated here with their parents unlawfully. Those children have 
been reunited with their parents, which I think we all should be 
grateful for.
  Secretary Azar of Health and Human Services; Kirstjen Nielsen, 
Secretary of Homeland Security; Attorney General Sessions; and all 
those officials at the Departments of Health and Human Services, 
Homeland Security, and Justice have been working tirelessly to complete 
these initial reunifications. Their goal has always been the well-being 
of these children and returning them to a safe environment.
  As we can see from this morning's report, the administration clearly 
needs time to vet all the people. In fact, in some instances, they 
actually have to take DNA tests to confirm the claim that the adult who 
brought the child across is, in fact, their biological parent. We know 
that the cartels, the human traffickers, are very sophisticated, and if 
they can simply pair up an unaccompanied child with an adult and send 
them across the border while claiming to be a family unit, they can 
basically navigate the gaps in our legal enforcement system against 
illegal immigration.
  Over the next few weeks, we know Federal officials will be working to 
reunite all other separated families, as they should. This is one thing 
we all--Republicans and Democrats alike--agree on; these families 
should be kept together. This is consistent with President Trump's 
Executive order, as well as a bill that I have introduced, along with 
other colleagues, called the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law 
Act.
  As that bill suggests, there are two parts to it. One is treating 
families with compassion by allowing them to remain together and, also, 
enforcing the immigration laws on our books. They don't have to be 
mutually exclusive, and our bill will ensure that they aren't. It will 
allow parents to stay with their children in a safe facility while 
awaiting their court proceedings.
  In other words, a number of these children and these adults are 
claiming asylum in the United States. That can be finally decided only 
by an immigration judge. What we would like to do is move them to the 
head of the line and get them a hearing in front of an immigration 
judge on a timely basis. Our bill would also set mandatory standards of 
care for family residential centers and keep children safe by requiring 
that they be removed from the care of an individual who endangers their 
safety.
  In conclusion, I will say that this is not a new problem. We know 
that several of the countries in Central America are basically in a 
meltdown mode. In other words, gangs and violent organizations threaten 
the safety and welfare of families in these Central American countries.
  What we saw in 2014 is what President Obama called a humanitarian 
crisis--when tens of thousands of these children, unaccompanied by a 
parent, were turned over to these criminal organizations and 
transported from Central America all the way through Mexico into the 
United States, where they were then processed and placed with a sponsor 
in the United States, consistent with the law currently in effect. This 
is not a new scenario.
  The cartels, the criminal organizations, have found a new way to 
circumvent American law unless we change it, unless we fix it. What 
they are hoping for, ultimately, is a restoration of the catch-and-
release policies of the past.
  What happens when people are not detained and when they are not 
presented before an immigration judge on a timely basis is that they 
are given a notice to appear in the future and told to come back for 
their hearing in months and maybe years later. It should surprise no 
one that the vast majority of those people don't show up for their 
hearing.
  What has happened is, the criminal organizations who profit from this 
business model and the people who illegally immigrate to the United 
States have basically gamed the system. Unless we are willing to stand 
up and fix it, then shame on us.
  This is really about two issues. One is compassionate treatment of 
the children, treating the adults with dignity and providing them a 
safe place. But it is also about making sure that our laws are 
enforced.
  Some of our colleagues across the aisle have said: Well, let's just 
abolish law enforcement at the border. Let's abolish Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, abolish ICE, as it is called. That would be a 
disaster of the first

[[Page S4929]]

order. How would we be maintaining fidelity with our oath to support 
the Constitution and laws of the United States if we would not see to 
it that our law enforcement agencies, like ICE, which perform important 
and necessary duties along the border and throughout the country, were 
not there with our support to do the job we have asked them to do?
  I know there has been a lot of discussion about this legislation, but 
at some point, patience ceases to be a virtue, and I expect that at 
some point there may well be an opportunity for one or more Senators to 
come to the floor and offer this legislation by unanimous consent. We 
will see who wants to be a constructive player in this process and who 
wants to object and obstruct our ability to fix this crisis at the 
border.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). The Senator from Iowa.