Sean Reyes: “I rise today as a Member who represents a border community who has always been concerned about our national security and…”

“I rise today as a Member who represents a border community who has always been concerned about our national security and our border security. Today, still, our border security is driven by money not policy, and certainly not in the best interest of our security. This amendment gives DHS the necessary funds, $2.05 billion, to fund the 35,000 beds they have stated they need to eliminate the budget-driven catch-and-release policy. What has appalled so many of us is that DHS is catching and releasing thousands of illegal immigrants into the general population of the United States because they simply do not have the detention space to hold them. These illegal immigrants, also referred to as OTMs, or other than Mexicans, are given what they refer to as ``walking papers'' and are released on their own recognizance with an order to appear voluntarily at a deportation hearing weeks after their release. In fact, Mr. Chairman, they are asked where they are traveling to in order to give them a hearing near their final destination. Of those released, about 5 percent actually return for this hearing. But that number is probably high, in my opinion. This is hurting the morale of our U.S. Border Patrol agents and is a misguided process. Because of catch-and-release, the number of immigrants who have come across our borders has significantly increased.…”