Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise today to offer bipartisan solutions to a problem. I would also like to acknowledge my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, Congressman Stivers, for his support in this effort. This problem is in the backyard of every south Texan or any resident along the border. The problem is an immigration system that is ill- equipped to process immigrants on our southern border. I assure you, we understand the complexity and the problem with much more compassion than anyone in this country. The only way to relieve pressure in this pressure cooker of a system is to process these cases more efficiently. In 2016, we had record-breaking numbers of cases. We had 521,000 cases. The number now is 876,000 cases waiting for asylum in this country. I asked a simple question of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. I asked: What will it take to get these cases processed and up to date so that immigrants may have a hearing on their claim within the same year? The answer was to increase the agency's ability to hear cases, which means more judges, more benches, and more support staff. That is what my amendment seeks to do. The only way we can reach into these detention centers is to act immediately. I ask for my colleagues' support. {time} 1715”