Veronica Escobar

I am not afraid of these families arriving at my doorstep. I live in El Paso.

I am from El Paso, Texas, the beautiful, vibrant, new Ellis Island, which is on the U.S./Mexico border.

That is shocking and horrifying.

Isn't that our obligation?

We should call it for what it is.

We call it the child separation policy because that is exactly what happened.

I am from the safe, secure, and vibrant U.S.-Mexico border community of El Paso, Texas, where, unfortunately, we have the dubious distinction of being the testing ground for the Trump administration's family separation policy.

There is a new policy that is about to unfortunately be rolled out in my community called the Migrant Protection Protocol, which I believe is a misnomer for a dangerous and, in some cases, deadly and I believe also an illegal policy.

Unfortunately, my community, one of tremendous goodwill and generosity, has been ground zero for many of this administration's cruel anti-immigrant, anti-American policies.

Thank you for challenging the voter ID law. It has proven problematic for a number of reasons.

It has proven problematic for a number of reasons and for one reason that I want to bring to light here today just to shed more light on the myriad of issues that we have heard about today.

Can you help me and remind me and remind Americans what are the rules of engagement when you are in communities like my own?

The vast majority of the individuals that we are seeing coming to the southern border are people seeking asylum.

I come from the U.S.-Mexico border. I represent El Paso, Texas, which has been one of the safest communities in the United States for close to two decades.

I want to point out that Felipe and his father were apprehended in the El Paso sector where a wall already exists. And this tragedy should be a wake-up call to folks who believe that mythology about walls. They just do not work.

We are having to fix the problems caused by unregulated government. There are innumerable examples and costs associated with fixing problems that could have been prevented.

You have families that live in third world conditions in the state of Texas with a modern city just miles away.

I have forwarded those documents to his office along with all Members of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.

Ensuring safe and effective borders is a critical issue for our National and economic security.

Those of us who have been engaged in this issue have long said that immigration reform should come first.

El Paso is the safest city of its size in the Nation.

Incredibly, it has been said by some elected officials, two from my own State, that there are bombs going off in El Paso, and that is absolutely untrue.