[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H9956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING CARLOS GREGORIO HERNANDEZ VASQUEZ

  (Ms. BROWNLEY of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, his name was Carlos Gregorio 
Hernandez Vasquez. He was 16. He was sick with the flu, so sick with 
the flu that he passed out. He was being detained by U.S. Border 
Patrol. He laid on the floor of his cell for hours without a single 
person coming to help him. He spent hours, until he died, on the floor 
alone.
  When CBP detained him, they were responsible for his well-being. We 
were responsible for his well-being, and we failed him.
  Some say we must create a deterrent from children fleeing their home 
country. I ask, Mr. President, is this deterrent enough for you?
  Our country was founded on the principle that human rights are 
universal rights. It is at the very core of our Constitution, our 
democracy, and it is why this democratic experiment endures. Without 
it, we are nothing.

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