Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise to emphasize the urgent need to assist migrant children at our Southern land border. The Trump Administration's treatment of asylum-seeking families at the border is un-American and inhumane.

There have been over 2,500 children separated from their families at our border. Of the 2,500, 1,033 were under the age of ten when they were detained, including 103 that were under five. Last year, I traveled to Texas to see the conditions first-hand. At the McAllen CBP Central Processing Center, I saw children being kept in large cages, most separated from their parents. At the Port Isabel ICE Detention Center, I cried with mothers who had their children taken away from them.

A year later and there are still serious overcrowding and prolonged detention of unaccompanied migrant children. At Rio Grande Valley, 826 of the 2,669 children detained had been held longer than the 72 hours generally permitted under the current CBP standards and the Flores Agreement. Furthermore, children had no access to showers and had not been provided hot meals.

Madam Speaker, no child should have to endure the conditions of the Trump administration's anti-immigrant rhetoric, regardless of their immigration status. UNHCR's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, herself said she was ``deeply shocked that children are forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded facilities, without access to adequate healthcare or food, and with poor sanitation conditions.'' Detention is never in the best interest of any child--and it is heartbreaking to know that these children may have serious damage to their health and development as a result of this Administration's shameful practice.

This is why I am introducing the ``Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act''. This the bill would:

End family separations except in situations where the child is a trafficking victim, not the child of the accompanying adult, or in danger of abuse or neglect.

Set minimum health and safety standards for children and families in Border Patrol Stations; require access to toothbrushes, diapers, soap and showers and other hygiene products; require regular nutritious meals; and ensure a prompt medical assessment by trained medical providers.

End for-profit contractors from operating new Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) standard shelters or influx facilities. Such shelters or facilities must be state-licensed, meet Flores Settlement Agreement standards, and not used to house children indefinitely.

Expand alternatives to detention and the successful Family Case Management Program (FCMP), which was a program that was designed to increase compliance with immigration obligations through a comprehensive case management strategy supported by community organizations.

Remove roadblocks to placing unaccompanied children with sponsors by lowering the total number of cases a manager may take, mandating lower staffing ratios, and ending the information sharing agreement between ORR and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Ensure unaccompanied children have access to legal counsel and continue to be placed in a safe setting for their initial asylum case review.

Provide resources to non-profit centers that are helping provide humanitarian assistance.

Permit Members of Congress, accompanying staff, and credentialed press (without cameras) to visit any facility with 24-hour notice.

We need to ensure that our government funds must not be used to traumatize or harm asylum seekers. The Trump administration's lack of empathy and compassion for migrant families and children at the U.S.- Mexico border is heartbreaking and demands action by Congress. Those who come to our nation should be treated with dignity and respect and that is something the administration has failed to provide when treating migrant families. We have a crisis at the southern border, and we need to ensure our officials have the resources they need while respecting the dignity of those in the U.S. government's care. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and join me in the fight to protect children's human rights.

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