Beto O'Rourke: “Allow me to address some of the concerns raised in the underlying bill concerning unaccompanied alien children. If our…”

“Allow me to address some of the concerns raised in the underlying bill concerning unaccompanied alien children. If our concern is with a secure border, you can talk to someone such as myself who represents El Paso, Texas, the largest city in Texas on the Mexican border which, today, is also the safest city not just in Texas, but in the entire United States. You can talk to other elected leaders, to the folks who actually live on the border, and you can look at the facts. Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border are down nearly 70 percent over the last 15 years. In the year 2000, we had 1.6 million apprehensions. This last year, 420,000. And even with this spike of refugees from Central America, we are not expected to get to half a million this year. The border, by the numbers, is as secure as it has ever been. If your concern is with the welfare of these children once they enter this country, then I say let's increase the amount that we are spending with Health and Human Services which, in this current bill, is a pittance against what is necessary and what should be required.…”