Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I must rise in opposition against this irresponsible and insufficient border supplemental.

For months, Democrats have urged this majority to pass comprehensive immigration reform--the bill that was passed on a bipartisan basis in the United States Senate--reform that reflects our values and the country that we want to be: one with strong enforcement at the border, the deportation of dangerous criminals, and a path to citizenship that protects workers, helps families reunite, and clears backlogs.

But this Republican majority has done nothing. They have refused to act. My colleague from Texas is right--doing nothing is not an option. Now we face a humanitarian crisis on our border that demands an immediate response, but the majority's answer is just to send home the children who enter our country alone regardless of the violence and the imminent danger that they face.

This bill only includes $197 million for providing shelter and care for these refugee children. While these kids are here, we have a moral and, yes, we have a legal responsibility to provide for their housing, care, and processing in the most cost-effective way possible. This insufficient amount will mean that HHS will have to make up the difference through high-priced, short-term contracts. That will cost us more in the long run, and it could result in cuts to other priorities, like education, health, medical research, and job training.

If Congress tries to make up these shortfalls elsewhere, this is not responsible leadership. Our policy, signed into law by President George W. Bush, provides for the appropriate screening of those who may be victims of trafficking, and that rightly includes unaccompanied children. This supplemental appropriation would change this policy and would almost certainly result in children being returned to the violence that they are desperately trying to escape.

America can do and should do better. We should help protect those kids who are in serious danger, and we should push the leaders of these nations to address the root causes of why so many of their citizens are fleeing. We should pass comprehensive immigration reform. It is time for leadership from this Republican majority.

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