On the recordAugust 1, 2014
Looking at the underlying bill, I have to wonder what my colleagues are afraid of. Are they afraid of these kids, children who are fleeing brutal violence in their home countries to come to our country to seek asylum? Are we so afraid of them that we would shortcut due process and send them right back into this violence? Mr. Speaker, are they afraid of the border, that they would send the National Guard when we are already spending $18 billion a year; more than on all Federal law enforcement combined; at a time when El Paso, Texas, the largest Texas city on the Mexican border, is also the safest city in this country; at a time when we are 70 percent lower in apprehensions at our southern border; and at a time when these apprehensions of children have fallen by almost 60 percent? Mr. Speaker, I ask us not to be motivated by fear or anxiety, but instead the best traditions of this country: courage, compassion, and strength to do the right thing.
