Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman for the additional time. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to focus on this: We know in the past year, under…”

“I thank the gentleman for the additional time. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to focus on this: We know in the past year, under this administration, seven-plus children have died. How many adults have also passed? It is as important to report the deaths of individuals in our own prison systems as it is to report migrant deaths. They are human beings. It is important to be able to use and to understand the use of force. To every law enforcement officer, I say to their families, I want them to go home to their families. But to every human being who comes desperate for the hope and the blessings of America who has not come to do us harm, I want to be able to have the oversight that is in this bill, the accountability and transparency in that border area. We all know that El Paso has been touted as the safest city in the Nation. It was not an immigrant that killed 22 people. It was not an immigrant whose violence and victimization and utilization of an automatic weapon caused the injuries to the people whom I had to visit in the hospitals of El Paso. It was not an immigrant. Mr. Speaker, this is a worthy bill that will, in fact, provide the right direction for the Homeland Security Department. I rise to support H.R. 2203. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 2203, the Homeland Security Improvement Act. I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Escobar for her leadership in drafting this important piece of legislation.…”