Political Quotes

“That is correct. The Senator from Texas is correct. Neither the President's deferred action program nor legislation passed by the Senate would allow people coming now to have some type of legal status. In the case of the President's DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, you would have to have been here by 2007. Under the Senate legislation you would have to have been here by 2011 at a minimum. So it would not apply. The problem here--the root of it or the main part of it--is that people coming from noncontiguous countries to the United States, meaning Central American countries like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, are treated differently than kids who come from Mexico or Canada. In the case of kids coming--unaccompanied minors--from Mexico or Canada, the average is 3 days that we take care of them and then repatriate them or send them back. Here in this case, partly because of the law we have under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, kids who come here need to be placed with a guardian or family. The President's proposal is asking nearly $2 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, which has no role in border enforcement at all--none. It has no role in deportation or to repatriate these children back. It is simply to settle these children with families or guardians around the country. I should note that HHS does no due diligence whatsoever to ensure that the people they are placing them with are here legally.…”