Unaccompanied Minors Hearings Committee on Homeland Security House of Representatives
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UNACCOMPANIED MINORS HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 24 and JULY 3, 2014 Serial No. 113–74 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 91–929 PDF WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman LAMAR SMITH, Texas BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi PETER T. KING, New York LORETTA SANCHEZ, California MIKE ROGERS, Alabama SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan, Vice Chair BRIAN HIGGINS, New York PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania RON BARBER, Arizona JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah DONDALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi BETO O’ROURKE, Texas LOU BARLETTA, Pennsylvania FILEMON VELA, Texas RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina ERIC SWALWELL, California STEVE DAINES, Montana VACANCY SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana VACANCY SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania MARK SANFORD, South Carolina VACANCY BRENDAN P. SHIELDS, Staff Director JOAN O’HARA, Acting Chief Counsel MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director (II) C O N T E N T S Page TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2014 STATEMENTS The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 3 The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security ................................................................................................................. 5 WITNESSES Hon. Jeh C. Johnson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Accompanied by W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Ronald D. Vitiello, Deputy Chief, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Depart- ment of Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 7 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 11 FOR THE RECORD The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Article, ‘‘Why 90,000 Children Flooding Our Border Is Not an Immigration Story’’ ................................................................................................................. 21 Statement of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ........................ 33 Statement of the Women’s Refugee Commission ............................................... 37 Article, ‘‘Young migrants stuck in limbo on Mexican border’’ .......................... 42 The Honorable Beto O’Rourke, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Statement of First Focus Campaign for Children ............................................. 45 The Honorable Jeff Duncan, a Representative in Congress From the State of South Carolina: Article, ‘‘Internal Memo: ‘DREAM Act’ Deluge ‘Compromising’ Border Secu- rity’’ .................................................................................................................... 59 The Honorable Scott Perry, a Representative in Congress From the State of Pennsylvania: Advertisement ...................................................................................................... 66 THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 STATEMENTS The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 78 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 82 The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 83 (III) IV Page Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 85 The Honorable Beto O’Rourke, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 87 The Honorable Rube´n Hinojosa, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 88 WITNESSES PANEL I The Honorable Rick Perry, Governor, State of Texas: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 90 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 92 PANEL II Mr. Kevin W. Oaks, Chief Patrol Agent, Rio Grande Valley Sector, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 126 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 127 Mr. Steven C. McCraw, Director, Texas Department of Public Safety: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 131 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 133 Mr. Jose Eduardo ‘‘Eddie’’ Guerra, Interim Sheriff, Sheriff’s Office, Hidalgo County, Texas: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 135 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 137 Mr. Ramon Garcia, Hidalgo County Judge, Hidalgo County, Texas: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 138 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 140 Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Texas, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 144 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 146 FOR THE RECORD The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security: Statement of the Texas Border Coalition ........................................................... 79 The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas: Statement of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas .............................. 161 Letter from the President—Efforts to Address the Humanitarian Situation in the Rio Grande Valley Areas of Our Nation’s Southwest Border ............ 164 APPENDIX Statement of the National Immigrant Justice Center .......................................... 175 DANGEROUS PASSAGE: THE GROWING PROB- LEM OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN CROSSING THE BORDER Tuesday, June 24, 2014 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, WASHINGTON, DC. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Michael T. McCaul [Chairman of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives McCaul, King, Rogers, Broun, Miller, Meehan, Duncan, Chaffetz, Palazzo, Barletta, Daines, Brooks, Perry, Sanford, Thompson, Sanchez, Jackson Lee, Clarke, Higgins, Richmond, Barber, Payne, O’Rourke, Vela, and Swalwell. Chairman MCCAUL. The Committee on Homeland Security will come to order. The committee is meeting today to examine the current crisis at the border regarding unaccompanied children. I now recognize my- self for an opening statement. Today on the Southwest Border we are facing an escalating ref- ugee crisis. Parents are handing over their young children by the thousands to cartels who are profiting by smuggling these kids to the United States. Many are under the age of 10, including some barely old enough to walk. These children with no parents, relatives, or legal guardians risk a perilous and sometimes fatal journey, riding buses or trains from Central America via Mexico. As a father of five, it is unimaginable to me what would compel a parent to risk the lives of their children on such a dangerous pas- sage. Not to mention the risk of sexual assault, exploitations, and the potential to be trafficked. When they arrive at the border, the children are simply turning themselves in to the nearest Border Patrol Agents. However, patrol stations are not set up to handle this massive and growing number of detainees, let alone children. Shelters have been