Summer Lee

I take great pains and great opposition to the characterization of our border--Southern Border--and the characterization of our State.

Do you want your city to be secure?

We have not had a catastrophic terrorist act on our soil since 9/11.

Those of us who live on the border in Texas don't particularly have our hair on fire unless provoked.

I hope to hear from Mayor Leeser about his thoughts on ways we can work cooperatively to provide the infrastructure and staffing communities like his need.

Congress failed to provide funding in fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013 for port of entry infrastructure, exacerbating the backlog of infrastructure projects.

In fact, trade just with Mexico supports 6 million jobs in the United States.

On an average day, about $2 billion in trade crosses our land borders, creating jobs and bolstering the economy in cities and towns across America.

I thank Chairwoman Miller for holding today's hearing examining how the Federal Government prioritizes investments in port of entry infrastructure.

Meanwhile, staffing shortages continue to be a problem as CBP remains several thousand officers shy of what its staffing model indicated is necessary to properly staff our Nation's ports of entry.

CBP previously estimated it would need $6 billion over 10 years to modernize existing ports of entry to meet its current security and facilitation missions.

Meanwhile, our ports of entry are aging and their infrastructure can no longer accommodate the volume of trucks, vehicles, and pedestrians that cross every day, resulting in increasing wait times.

On an average day about $2 billion in trade crosses our land borders, creating jobs and bolstering the economy in cities and towns across America.

As a Member from a border State, I understand how important appropriate infrastructure and staffing at our ports of entry are to not just border communities, but our Nation as a whole.

Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman. Let me first of all thank you for this continuing oversight that has been so very effective dealing with concerns of border security, but also the importance of the need for the infrastructure…

The children should be given the basic coverage of the law that is in existence today that will allow us to treat them in a humane way.

This is not a National security crisis. This is a humanitarian crisis.

But it is very important to know that a massive deportation policy for children and a mandatory detaining for children is not a humane thing to do.

A letter from the President of the United States dated June 30, 2014 asking for the $2 billion, including resources for all of you.

I say we have sensible, comprehensive immigration reform.

What we hear is now they're bringing diseases.

You don't like DACA, you don't like anything that has to do with compassion.

The law is the same, and it is ridiculous for this Committee to even suggest that.

When the refugees come to our borders, it behooves us to act under the same principles that we have enunciated to them.

I think it is appropriate, and my Chairman and I and the Ranking Member, we work together to put on the record that we are long overdue for putting comprehensive immigration reform on the floor of the House and passing it and moving…