[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 66 (Friday, April 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H1879-H1880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CRISIS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

  (Ms. TENNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TENNEY. Madam Speaker, there is a crisis at our Nation's southern 
border, as you heard when our minority whip   Steve Scalise outlined it 
earlier.
  Last month, more than 170,000 illegal immigrants were encountered and 
rescued by border agents at our southern border, and almost 19,000 of 
them were children, the most ever in a single month.
  This is a humanitarian catastrophe, as cartels are profiting at 
record levels from this egregious human trafficking scheme.
  I visited the border, including a child processing center at the El 
Paso Sector, and witnessed this firsthand. I left with an even deeper 
sense of respect and admiration for the men and women of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection

[[Page H1880]]

agency and those other agencies tasked to assist them.
  Chief Gloria Chavez leads her force along the El Paso Sector with 
incredible tenacity, courage, compassion, and great energy. The team of 
agents under her command are doing an excellent job in a nearly 
impossible situation. These terrific people are overwhelmed because of 
the dangerous and inhumane policies now coming from Washington. I am 
grateful to Chief Chavez and her team for their insights.
  Human trafficking is a nonpartisan issue. We must come together to 
stop it. We must finish the border wall, improve barrier technology 
around the wall, and we must reform this disastrous immigration policy.

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