The Real Crisis At the Border

Floor Speech

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Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, a couple days ago, the President gave a State of the Union Address that did nothing to promote unity but, rather, used fear to further a divisive agenda against immigrants by repeating lies about his manufactured emergency at our southern border.

However, there was no mention of the real crisis. The real crisis stems from the President's inhumane separation policies.

Mr. Speaker, 8 months since his cruel zero-tolerance policy first came to light, the number of children who were ripped away from families at the border continues to rise. At first, the administration said nearly 3,000 children were separated from their parents. Now, we are learning that it has been thousands more.

The administration also claims that they can't easily find the parents of the children they ripped away, and they don't even think it is worth the time to locate them. This inhumane policy and how they treat these children goes against everything this country stands for.

The President and this administration need to do everything that they can to ensure the reunification of these families. The prolonged separation of these children has caused irreparable damage to their mental health and well-being.

That, Mr. President, is the real crisis that you have created at the southern border.

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