Mary Gay Scanlon: “I am so glad that our colleagues across the aisle agree that the conditions at the border are intolerable, because they…”

“I am so glad that our colleagues across the aisle agree that the conditions at the border are intolerable, because they are. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to go to the southern border, meet with Border Patrol agents and advocates on the ground, including a woman who had been separated from her children, and we toured detention facilities. The humanitarian crisis then, in February, was undeniable, and it has only gotten worse. But the cause of this crisis has raised serious questions, particularly as to why it has escalated. In addition to suspending critical aid designed to relieve conditions causing desperate families to flee their homes, the Trump administration is failing to use longstanding lawful processes and available resources to provide relief to children and refugees at the southern border. The Trump administration's policies are not making our border safer, but they are worsening the situation, at the expense of the health and well-being of desperate children and families. There are unused beds at facilities in my home State of Pennsylvania and in Texas, and many refugee children have sponsors, family members available here, but they are being denied access. Prior to coming to Congress, I represented immigrants and asylum seekers who, by definition, lawfully enter this country seeking refuge.…”