On the recordAugust 1, 2014
The arrival of tens of thousands of children from Central America seeking refuge in our country has tugged at the conscience of the American people. It has demonstrated both our best and our worst instincts. The best are all of the people who are so generous in offering food and clothing and shelter to these kids who have come from so far. But we have also seen some bad instincts, like the armed militiamen in ski masks who have shown up at our southern border, whose leader has said that the way you keep people from coming to this country is that you point a gun at them and threaten to shoot them in the head. That is not America. The question that we must answer now is: What does it mean to be a refugee in the 21st century? Just as we offered that status to Cubans fleeing Castro, to those from the Soviet Union, to the Vietnamese, just as our adversaries have changed, they are not always state actors--they are al Qaeda; they are ISIS--I would argue that so, too, have our refugees changed, and we must recognize that. This bill is not good for our country, and it doesn't reflect who we are as a people.
