Supporting United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, this resolution is the legislative equivalent of fiddling while Rome is burning. Our President takes to the world stage to side with a hostile foreign power over his own intelligence services. Here at home he engages in government-sponsored child abuse in the form of a family separation policy that continues to terrorize children as young as 6 months.

This nonbinding resolution before us would do nothing to bring about a fair and just immigration system. In fact, it would do nothing at all. It is just a meaningless political stunt to change the subject from the international and domestic shame unleashed on us by President Trump.

The President imposed the family separation policy, and his administration never even considered how to ensure that the children would eventually reunite with their families. Now, nearly 3,000 children remain separated, and they do not know when, or even if, they will ever see their parents again. Many of these children were ripped from the arms of their mothers and fathers, and their anguish is unimaginable.

But this bill would do nothing to reverse this disastrous and cruel family separation policy. It would do nothing to ensure that parents and children are accurately tracked so that families can be reunited, and it would do nothing to address the horrendous conditions separated children are being subjected to.

For example, 14-month-old Baby M--we must use a pseudonym--was separated from his mother for 85 days at 14 months and he returned so full of dirt and lice that it appeared he had not been bathed the entire time he was in Federal custody. His mother Olivia says that he is not the same since they were reunited, and he cries whenever he does not see her out of fear that he might be left alone again.

Mr. Speaker, this is a humanitarian crisis. We do not have the time to waste with political stunts like this bill while the moral fiber of our country is torn apart.

I will be voting ``present'' on this bill, because I have no desire to play the Republican's immoral games right now. We have much more important things to do.

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Mr. NADLER. Lofgren), the ranking Democrat on the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee.

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, what is disgusting is for Congress to sit idly by while children are ripped from the arms of their parents and abused.

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Yes, every Democrat voted against H.R. 6136, which provided for indefinite detention of entire families, among other obnoxious provisions. So did many Republicans, thank God.

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time remains for each side.
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Mr. NADLER. Pelosi), the distinguished Democratic leader of the House.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to close. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).
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