Providing for Consideration of H.R. Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Reclamation Title Transfer and Non-Federal Infrastructure Incentivization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of a young mother. Her name is Rosa. Just like my mom, she came to America in search of a better life.

Rosa's home was in Trujillo, Honduras, where she lived with her aging parents and her son, Juan. Violent gangs controlled the town, and Rosa feared her young son would be targeted like so many others in her neighborhood.

Under these desperate circumstances, Rosa did what any loving mother would do. She took her modest life savings and her son and fled north in search of safety. When they finally made it to the U.S. border near Yuma, Arizona, Rosa and Juan were met by American authorities who asked her an ominous question: Don't you know we're separating children from their families here? She told them no, but it was too late. Rosa and Juan are still separated.

Mr. Speaker, the administration is now reuniting a small number of these families due, in part, to Donald Trump's orders. But let's be clear. This isn't happening out of concern for their welfare. As usual, Donald Trump is only doing the right thing because a court is making him do it.

Trump still wants to set up tent camps in our military bases. He still wants to eviscerate legal protections for migrant children, and he still wants to lock up families. Donald Trump's goal is to present mothers and children fleeing unspeakable violence with an impossible choice: immediate deportation or indefinite detention. That is appalling.

On the other hand, the Members of this body have an easy choice: make excuses for Trump, or take a stand against the state-sponsored mistreatment of children. It is not a tough decision. We know what we need to do.

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