Madam Speaker, I want to speak tonight about the very deep humanitarian situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration has been the lifeblood of our Nation for generations. The United States has been blessed that people from all over the world have come to our country fleeing oppression, dictators, violence, poverty, desperation, and seeking opportunity in our Nation that has been built up by those very same people to become the most prosperous and powerful Nation on the face of this Earth. But our immigration system is broken. Our enforcement system is broken. And tonight, we want to talk about what we have learned, after repeated visits to Department of Homeland Security facilities, operated by Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and also HHS facilities operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. I am going to be joined tonight by a few of my colleagues, Jimmy Gomez, who represents part of Los Angeles, Darren Soto, a Congressman from Florida, and perhaps other Members of Congress this evening. Before I turn it over to Darren, I want to speak for a second about what is known as the largest for-profit center that is operated to detain children. It is in a town called Homestead, Florida, and it is a massive operation. The operators of this facility, it is reported, make over $700 per child per day, and its size continues to grow.…
On the recordJuly 10, 2019
Share & report
More from Joaquin Castro
Feb 5, 2024
I do not see this amendment as trying--as over regulating. The amendment is simply trying to make sure that we get the information...
Feb 14, 2024
The Trump Administration initiated the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by negotiating and, ultimately, concluding the DOHA deal in February 2020 with an explicit aim to withdraw all American troops in the country in 14 months.
Dec 4, 2023
You are an inspiration, obviously, for the people of Belarus and then, hey, ultimately, an inspiration for the people of Russia itself that they, too, under the repression of war criminal Putin, 1 day there will be a free and democratic…
Jan 17, 2024
I want to say I support the proposed reforms and I hope that they ultimately get implemented.





