Zoe Lofgren: “We have heard repeatedly that this bill simply treats all children the way that Mexican children are treated. It is true…”

“We have heard repeatedly that this bill simply treats all children the way that Mexican children are treated. It is true that the bill would subject all children to the ineffective border screening that Mexican children now undergo, but it actually makes that screening much worse. Under the antislavery law, Mexican children are permitted to withdraw their applications for admission and return to Mexico only if the Border Patrol screener determines that the child has the capacity to understand what is going on and can independently agree to withdraw the application for admission. This bill strikes that language. Under this bill, it does not matter whether the child can comprehend that she has been given the option to voluntarily return to her home country because, in this bill, it does not matter what she thinks. This bill now says that while a child may be permitted to withdraw her application for admission, no matter what, she shall be returned-- no matter what, once Border Patrol decides, that is the end of the discussion, and that kid is going home. Now, this is not just about our southern border and children from Central America. This new procedure would apply to any unaccompanied minor child who appears at our border seeking asylum. {time} 1930 It could mean that the pregnant Chinese teenager fleeing forced abortion in China simply gets turned away.…”