[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, as a former State supreme court justice 
and now as the ranking Democrat on a subcommittee whose 
responsibilities include child well-being, I ask my colleagues to avoid 
the easy political path advanced by those who claim they would help 
vulnerable children by deporting them. We must say ``no'' to those who 
would hold up needed Homeland Security funding unless we agree to blame 
the victims--stripping these desperate children of their vital right to 
be heard.
  Let's heed the good counsel of ABA President James R. Silkenat. He 
says:
  The U.S. finds itself at a critical crossroads. The American Bar 
Association has long recognized the special vulnerabilities of 
children. We oppose any diminution in the rights available to Central 
American children under the law. It is imperative that children's 
immigration cases be conducted in the presence of an adjudicator. In 
addition, added resources are needed to reform and bolster our system 
for immigration adjudication, a system that has been severely short-
funded for many years.
  Shortcutting justice for children cuts short justice for abuse.

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