[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 903

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, last month alone, more than 100,000 
migrants crossed our southern border. Our ports of entry are overrun; 
holding facilities are packed; and, yes, our Border Patrol agents are 
absolutely exhausted. They are exhausted. This isn't just a logistical 
challenge; it is a tragedy made worse by the Biden administration's 
disastrous open borders policies.
  The crisis is escalating, especially for the tens of thousands of 
children who have arrived in this country very much alone. 
Unaccompanied minors accounted for nearly 10 percent of all migrants 
who crossed our border last month. That is roughly 10,000 children a 
month walking into chaos.
  Anyone paying a bit of attention knows what is going on here. Customs 
and Border Protection has been sounding the alarm on the connection 
between children and human trafficking for years. The coyotes, the 
cartels, and the gangs use children as drug mules. They use them as sex 
slaves. If you don't believe me, ask anyone with the CBP why they 
administer pregnancy tests to little girls as young as 13 as soon as 
they arrive at the border.
  This is a heartbreaking situation. These children are living in hell, 
and it is getting worse. False claims of family ties have fueled a rise 
in fraudulent asylum claims and in human trafficking. Adult migrants 
are making arrangements with cartels and smugglers to borrow children. 
They claim kinship and use that relationship to bolster a fraudulent 
asylum claim. And what do they do when they have gotten what they want? 
They send the child back across the border to start the entire 
nightmarish process with another stranger. That is correct. This is 
called child recycling, but I think ``recycling'' is an odd choice of 
words to describe one human being treating another human being like a 
piece of garbage. Again, this is heartbreaking.
  If you want to get an idea of how big a problem we have, consider 
that the Department of Homeland Security says that, over the past 
decade, they have seen a 1,675-percent increase in asylum cases.
  In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement implemented a pilot DNA 
testing program to try to stop this rampant exploitation. They found 
that 20 percent of all kinship claims they were able to screen were 
lies--20 percent.
  This is a humanitarian crisis, an environmental crisis, and a health 
and safety crisis. The Biden administration has lost control of this 
situation, but there are things we can do right now to protect these 
children and put the smugglers in check.
  This week, I introduced the End Child Trafficking Now Act, which 
would require our border agents to administer DNA tests to adult 
migrants claiming kinship with a minor without migrants' having the 
legal documentation to prove it.
  If the adult refuses, they will be immediately deported. Furthermore, 
the bill mandates a 10-year penalty for all alien adults who lie about 
their relationship with a minor.
  The test is simple. It takes about 90 minutes. Ninety minutes could 
mean the difference between that child finding safety in the United 
States and that child being dragged back to a cartel.
  We are on pace to see 17,000 more unaccompanied minors arrive this 
month. ICE proved this testing strategy can help protect them. There is 
no valid, fact-based reason not to do it.
  Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further 
consideration of S. 903 and the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  The Senator from California.
  Mr. PADILLA. Reserving the right to object, Madam President, I share 
my colleague's desire to prevent child trafficking. Trust me, as a 
parent, I know it is a laudable goal. But as drafted--as drafted--this 
bill would create enormous and instant chaos at airports around the 
country and every other port of entry.
  As written, it would require every foreign family who seeks admission 
to the United States, even just for a family vacation, to have a third 
party witness a test to their affiliation or else submit to a DNA test. 
I can't imagine any of our airports have the resources to implement 
this. It would simply lead to the same chaos we saw after the 
implementation of President Trump's Muslim ban, or worse, it would 
overwhelm our law enforcement officials and create bottlenecks at 
customs for citizens and noncitizens alike, not to mention the many 
legal and ethical questions as it pertains to genetic privacy and the 
storage of that information.
  I would be more than happy to sit down with my colleague from 
Tennessee in the context of a larger discussion about immigration 
reform to see how we can ensure that we include provisions to prevent 
child trafficking, but I don't think this bill as drafted will actually 
accomplish that goal, and so I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I think my colleague understands 
that this bill would apply to individuals, to adults who cannot show 
kinship and do not have legal documentation.
  We know that human trafficking, sex trafficking, and child 
trafficking have become a major industry. We know that child recycling 
is a practice that is used by the cartels. We know that they are using 
this to move adults into the country; thereby, this is something that 
would put the cartels in check and show that we are not going to stand 
for them recycling children, claiming kinship to children who are not 
theirs, and trying to move drug smugglers and cartel members into this 
country.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Baldwin). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.