Political Quotes

“Mr. President, yesterday I spoke briefly about the ongoing situation at the U.S.-Mexican border. It continues to be on my mind and on the minds of many others, including the Presiding Officer, who has offered some very constructive suggestions for how to address this situation. Just as under the Obama administration in 2014, we have seen a surge of unaccompanied children and families coming across our southern border during the spring and summer months. At the time, President Obama called it a humanitarian crisis, and it truly was and is. Between October 1 of last year and May 31 of this year, the number of families apprehended at the southwest border rose by 58 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier. Many of these individuals hail from Central America. Some have presented themselves lawfully at ports of entry, but others have tried to enter illegally in more remote, unpopulated areas. Let me explain. I think Secretary Nielsen tried to make this distinction, but I am not sure it quite penetrated. If someone shows up at a port of entry and asks for asylum, they have not violated our immigration laws, and their claim for asylum needs to be considered by the Border Patrol and by the immigration judge to whom their case is assigned. If someone tries to enter the country between the ports of entry, they have violated a Federal law.…”