[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E965-E966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STOP CRUELTY TO MIGRANT CHILDREN ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2019

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise to emphasize the urgent need to 
assist migrant children at our Southern land border. The Trump 
Administration's treatment of asylum-seeking families at the border is 
un-American and inhumane.
  There have been over 2,500 children separated from their families at 
our border. Of the 2,500, 1,033 were under the age of ten when they 
were detained, including 103 that were under five. Last year, I 
traveled to Texas to see the conditions first-hand. At the McAllen CBP 
Central Processing Center, I saw children being kept in large cages, 
most separated from their parents. At the Port Isabel ICE Detention 
Center, I cried with mothers who had their children taken away from 
them.
  A year later and there are still serious overcrowding and prolonged 
detention of unaccompanied migrant children. At Rio Grande Valley, 826 
of the 2,669 children detained had been held longer than the 72 hours 
generally permitted under the current CBP standards and the Flores 
Agreement. Furthermore, children had no access to showers and had not 
been provided hot meals.
  Madam Speaker, no child should have to endure the conditions of the 
Trump administration's anti-immigrant rhetoric, regardless of their 
immigration status. UNHCR's High Commissioner for Human Rights, 
Michelle Bachelet, herself said she was ``deeply shocked that children 
are forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded facilities, without 
access to adequate healthcare or food, and with poor sanitation 
conditions.'' Detention is never in the best interest of any child--and 
it is heartbreaking to know that these children may have serious damage 
to their health and development as a result of this Administration's 
shameful practice.
  This is why I am introducing the ``Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children 
Act''. This the bill would:
  End family separations except in situations where the child is a 
trafficking victim, not the child of the accompanying adult, or in 
danger of abuse or neglect.
  Set minimum health and safety standards for children and families in 
Border Patrol Stations; require access to toothbrushes, diapers, soap 
and showers and other hygiene products; require regular nutritious 
meals; and ensure a prompt medical assessment by trained medical 
providers.

[[Page E966]]

  End for-profit contractors from operating new Office of Refugee 
Resettlement (ORR) standard shelters or influx facilities. Such 
shelters or facilities must be state-licensed, meet Flores Settlement 
Agreement standards, and not used to house children indefinitely.
  Expand alternatives to detention and the successful Family Case 
Management Program (FCMP), which was a program that was designed to 
increase compliance with immigration obligations through a 
comprehensive case management strategy supported by community 
organizations.
  Remove roadblocks to placing unaccompanied children with sponsors by 
lowering the total number of cases a manager may take, mandating lower 
staffing ratios, and ending the information sharing agreement between 
ORR and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
  Ensure unaccompanied children have access to legal counsel and 
continue to be placed in a safe setting for their initial asylum case 
review.
  Provide resources to non-profit centers that are helping provide 
humanitarian assistance.
  Permit Members of Congress, accompanying staff, and credentialed 
press (without cameras) to visit any facility with 24-hour notice.
  We need to ensure that our government funds must not be used to 
traumatize or harm asylum seekers. The Trump administration's lack of 
empathy and compassion for migrant families and children at the U.S.-
Mexico border is heartbreaking and demands action by Congress. Those 
who come to our nation should be treated with dignity and respect and 
that is something the administration has failed to provide when 
treating migrant families. We have a crisis at the southern border, and 
we need to ensure our officials have the resources they need while 
respecting the dignity of those in the U.S. government's care. I urge 
my colleagues to support this legislation and join me in the fight to 
protect children's human rights.

                          ____________________