[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2546-H2547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BORDER CRISIS IS GETTING WORSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Tony Gonzales) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight 
the crisis that is happening on our southern border.
  My district, Texas 23, represents 820 miles of the Texas and Mexico 
border. That is 40 percent of our southern border.
  Madam Speaker, the Biden border crisis is as bad as it has ever been, 
and it is only getting worse. Over 20,000 unaccompanied children have 
entered into our country, and that number is only rising.
  These children don't have a voice. These children aren't represented. 
These children are nothing more than a stat on a paper, and that is 
wrong.
  On Mother's Day weekend, of all days, these five young girls, babies, 
essentially, were found abandoned on a ranch in Texas.

                              {time}  1015

  Well, today, I am here to talk about their story and give them a 
voice.
  Two of these girls, Ashley, who is 5 years old, and her sister, 
Valeria, who is 11 months old, are from Guatemala. Two of the other 
girls, Nasley, who is 7, and Cristal, who is 4, are from Honduras. They 
happen to be related. They are cousins.
  As they have made this trek to America, they were dumped on a farm in 
Texas with no water and no food. The oldest of them is 7 years old. 
Imagine that you are 7 years old, and your responsibility is to take 
care of your younger sister that is 4 and take care and ensure that 
your cousins, who are 5 and 11 months, not only are okay, but survive 
the night. That is wrong on all accounts.
  I want to tell a little bit more about this story. Sandra is the 
mother of Nasley and Cristal. Sandra has attempted to make this trek 
many times, and, unfortunately, she was turned around at the border 
several times.
  So she goes off and she gives her children to smugglers. Why? Because 
she is desperate. The situation at our southern border is desperate, 
and we need to act now. We need to reform immigration, and we need to 
secure our southern border; not only for these young ladies here, but 
for all children who are

[[Page H2547]]

making that dangerous trek, and for all people who live along the 
border and see this every single day.
  What is happening with these girls? They get put in HHS and then get 
released. Guess where they are going. They are going to Houston, Texas, 
to try to be reunited with a family member.
  All cities of the United States are border cities. All States of the 
United States are border States. This crisis has continued to spiral 
out of control, and we, here in Congress, as well as the 
administration, must come together and reform immigration and secure 
our southern border.

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