Kay Granger: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. Madam Speaker, as we speak, unaccompanied minors continue to be sent from Central…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. Madam Speaker, as we speak, unaccompanied minors continue to be sent from Central America through drug cartel smuggling networks across Mexico and through our southern border. Families are being lied to and manipulated by the coyotes. The $6,000 their families spend to send their children to the United States goes into the bank account of the most powerful drug cartels in the world. Since October, over 58,000 unaccompanied children have made the dangerous journey to the United States, and many more will continue to come unless we send a clear message that they will not be allowed to stay in the United States. I have seen firsthand the crisis that has unfolded at the southern border in places like the Rio Grande Valley and south Texas. I have seen the women and children sleeping on the floor of a bus station in Laredo. I have seen motherless infants being cared for by any stranger who is around. I have seen the children who are alone in detention facilities in McAllen, Texas, and I have seen the 1,200 children who are being sheltered at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, and--most disturbing of all--I have heard the stories about the most God-awful journey anyone should ever have to experience. We are here today because we have a responsibility to stop this crisis. The President has failed to lead, so I firmly believe this Chamber must act. Doing nothing is not an option.…”