John Cornyn: “the United States is facing a brewing humanitarian crisis at the border. At the same time, we are experiencing a global…”

“the United States is facing a brewing humanitarian crisis at the border. At the same time, we are experiencing a global pandemic. This motion will help make sure we are prepared. In January 2021, the Border Patrol recorded about 75,000 encounters on the southwest land border. That is a 60-percent increase over the last year, which was just before the last major migrant surge. The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly projecting that it will apprehend 117,000 unaccompanied children this year. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement are struggling to maintain enough bed space to shelter all of these unaccompanied children transferred into their custody. It is estimated the COVID-19 restrictions have reduced their capacity by about 40 percent. The Biden administration has reactivated a facility at Carrizo Springs, TX, to handle this influx of unaccompanied children, and press reports indicate that an additional facility may be necessary. So this motion, simply put, would commit the bill to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions with instructions to provide adequate funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement to address this brewing humanitarian crisis. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.”