[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FIX OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

  (Mr. GARCIA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Speaker, over the last few months, we have seen an 
unprecedented number of unaccompanied children coming across our 
border. While many of my colleagues want to rail at the lack of border 
enforcement, these kids are immediately being caught and turned over to 
the Border Patrol.
  Just throwing more money at the border isn't going to fix the 
problem. Sending the National Guard to the border isn't going to do it 
either. In fact, it is pure political posturing.
  What we need is comprehensive immigration reform now. Fixing our 
broken immigration system will clear the backlog so that we can process 
these children fairly and efficiently.
  Instead of adding to the $18 billion we already spend on immigration 
enforcement a year, we need a comprehensive strategy based on reliable 
metrics to allocate resources where they are actually needed.
  This crisis isn't going to be solved by scare tactics. These are 
children. We need a wide-ranging plan to ensure the fair and humane 
treatment of the children, and a long-term strategy to address the root 
causes of the crisis.

                          ____________________