Subcommittee on Border Operations will come to order. It is meeting today to receive testimony on the adequacy of dhs efforts to prevent child deaths in custody. Without objection the jurors authorized an endpoint. It has unanimous consent there would be permitted to sit and question the witnesses. The chair asked with unanimous consent dissent as the witnesses. Without objection, so ordered. Jacqueline hall mccain. Seven years old. In the big gomez angel. Darlene valley, ten years old. One areas, 15 years old. Will mayor two years old. Carlos hernandez frescoes, 16 years old. They used to six children died in the custody of the United States government just in the past 18 months. They used to children were migrants from Central America who died of preventable conditions that went untreated. Three of they used to children since the spent the last hours of their lives in detention facilities on the southern border. We must never forget their names, their suffering, their terrible losses their families had to endure. We are here this morning to examine the conditions that we cant avoid they used to terrible tragedies. We seen an increase in numbers of families and children alive and on the southern border over the past several years. Most of they used to families and children right from Central America. Vicious cartels and Gang Violence and extreme poverty. After surviving long dangerous journeys, they used to families shouldve been met with safe refuge. But instead, they encountered this Administration News period of inhumane border policies. Live family separations, zerotolerance detention, and remain in mexico policy. They used to policies and management decisions have contributed to massive overcrowding and widespread inhumane conditions that customs and Border Protection news facilities across our southern border. The dhs reports and Court Observer attorneys and forum deep on they used to intolerable conditions. Ive seen the problems with my own eyes along with several of my Congressional Colleagues on this planet on both sides of the british therapist about they used to conditions dhs has consistently failed to maintain transparency. They stymie congressional inquiries. The latest concerns that they are hiding concerns with management in addition to that leadership at the top of the department. One example of this is the Department News decision to instill information on the death of Carlos Fernandez focus. He was a teenage boy from guatemala who died tragically in u. S. Custody in the morning of may 20th, 2019. Cbp issued a press release later that day calling the death a tragedy. Declaring to be considered a help and safety Inhumane Treatment of migrants to be the highest priority. In spite of information request live this committee, it was not until the public report was released seven months later that congress and the public learned more about what happened to carlos. As death may have been caused live the failure to provide provide medical care and the failure to provide simple procedures. While understand this specific case is under investigation, the lack of transparency live the department is completely unacceptable. Unacceptable. They need to examine the factors that led to the tragedies. That is why i am extremely disappointed that the current dhs Inspector General decline our invitation to testify this morning. Especially given the recent news that is all of us closed investigations into the first two child deaths and Border Patrol custody. Publicly available summaries of they used to investigations are extraordinarily narrow in scope. They focus only on whether dhs personnel committed male treason and not within the Department Policies and resources, could properly protect the children in his care. For instance, and even with they used to two completed reports, we do not know while phillipe and his father were in cp custody for six days. This was before he passed away. I along with several other members of this committee may concern the dhs still isnt doing enough to protect the children in his custody. Reporting over this past weekend indicates the cp continues to detain families with Young Children in need of medical attention well beyond the 792 hours allowed live the agency news own protocols. This is the disturbing pattern that needs to be remedied immediately or we risk losing more children to preventable deaths in the future. We must act urgently to ensure the policies and decisions that contributed to they used to tragic deaths, are addressed. I hope the witnesses here today, are prepared to explain whether the Department News current approach incorporates the Lessons Learned they used to tragedies and how they intend to save our children and dhs custody going forward. As members of the congress, we may disagree about immigration policy, but there should be no disagreement that the federal government must take responsibility for they used to human beings. Particularly Young Children. We must never forget jacqueline and felipe, darlene, juan, and carlos. We must never let this happen to another child again. I want to thank the witnesses for joining us and i now recognize the Ranking Member, for his Opening Statement. Thank you manager and i think our professionals who are here before us today. In the palace. Thank you. Thank you for your service at the border and for me here today. I look forward to hearing in greater detail about the actions dhs has taken when asked about Border Protection about the ability to take care of migrants at the border. And to address preventable debts in custody. The crisis that unfolded along our borders, last year was real and is not the fault of the men and women of the Border Protection. It wasnt the fault of the executive branch for the president of the risings. The truth is this past year, we saw a record numbers of family units unaccompanied minors, large groups of 100 migrants for more than 213 groups to be exact. They were arriving at our borders during the height of the flu season and during much of the extreme heat. At the time the Border Patrol was referring 50 cases per day to medical professionals. The border crisis was a result of legal loopholes, activist judges, propaganda from criminal cartels, killers, who smuggle in traffic migrants for profit. In 2014, under the obama administration, the number of unaccompanied minors in canada that the border were viewed as crisis levels. The lid into the forum of dhs secretary johnson, wrote an open letter to Central American parents, telling them to not send their children and its clear, insufficient correction corrective actions were taken at the time. If that was a crisis and there are no words to describe what we experience in the border during the fiscal year of 2019. Not only were more than trainer 21000 minors encountered live customs and Border Protection, family unit apprehensions were more than 590 percent in fiscal year of 19 is fiscal year 14. Throughout the crisis most cbp facilities were at our overcapacity. Customs and Border Protection personnel were working overtime more than a month without pay to process large groups. The resources were depleted at record time as key personnel, and the department were furloughed. The customs and Border ProtectionLaw Enforcement officers still scrape together enough money out of their own pockets to buy toys and bring extra supplies for the migrants and their custody. Many of the parents themselves, caring for and loving to the best of their ability the children in their custody. After a 35 day shutdown that began in the end of 2018, the federal government reopened in january of 2019, the crisis continued. In light of the growing issues related to the mass influx of migrants, President Trump made an official request of congress to supplemental funding for the border. Two months but live before we send that money to the field. Our colleagues across the aisle, like the veteran supplemental assistance more than 15 times. While leaders of the Majority Party were repeating the message to each take emergency, the chief of the Border Patrol was testifying in front of congress that without the funding we may want to quote was the border. The bipartisan Homeland SecurityAdvisory Council released a report in the crisis stating that the delay and passing the supplemental result in unaccompanied minors being help in customs and Border Protection facilities are dangerous. Their members on this committee who voted against the emergency supplement. A no vote met a vote to keep our Company Minors and Border Protection custody instead of that of the department of health and Human Resources facilities suitable for children. It meant releasing thousands of migrants on the streets but border communities. Mark county sheriff testified before this committee that during the crisis, social Service Resources that should address local issues and along with homelessness are now completely unable to do so. While the men and women of cp were struggling to keep the lights on at the border, there was a subject of partisan attacks. One member even claimed that the deaths of children in custody were intentional. An ugly statement. An absurd date that was completely debunked. The dha news expected general found no misconduct. Upon completion, of their investigations into the heartbreaking deaths of jaclyn and philippe made in december of 2018. Every life is precious and even one death in custody is demanding. Which is why i am encouraged and i am encouraged, to learn about the immediate steps cdp took to enhance their ability to diagnose the help of migrants been custody and work with the dhs chief medical officer to make long needed and long term improvements. In december of 2018, and commissioner in mcallen, ordered secondary medical checks on every child in custody and initiated an internal evaluation of cp policy and since then, cdp established a face approach to conduct help interviews of all migrants. This is during an initial process. And a full medical assessment of all unaccompanied minors and atrisk adults. On top of that, customs and Border Protection now has over 700 medical personnel and contractors station across the southwest border. They will provide medical support to migrants in custody. The end of the day i look forward to our witnesses about how cdp custody medical capabilities have improved. And since the fall of 2018, the collaboration process between cdp and the office of dhs chief medical officer and other relevant stakeholders, to bolster custom and Border Protection news ability to stop preventable deaths in custody and their Expert Opinions on how to befriend another crisis in the future. Manager, thank you for indulgence and annual back. Thank you. The chair now recognizes the chairman of the Homeland Security committee. The gentleman from mississippi. On Opening Statement printed. Thank you very much medicare. Good morning to those of you who are here on the committee. Todays hearing topic is sobering. Deaths of innocent children. In our rapidly political changing my environment, it cant be easily moved from past disasters and tragedies in the Trump Administration contributes to the situation and art live empowering scandal exhausting the public and the media and oversight organizations. It is our oversight responsibilities members of congress to refuse to allow it looks disturbing and upsetting events fade into the past and help ensure that they are not repeated. We are here today to examine the treatment of Migrant Children in the custody of the department of Homeland Security in 2018 and 2019. I look at what changes may still be necessary. The tension of migrants did not begin with the current administration. But in earlier administration both democratic and republican officials took steps to avoid risk and their help and fixed it it looks Vulnerable People in custody. Under the Trump Administration, we now find the elderly, the infirm and the children in detention facilities, such as Border Patrol stations, not decide or equitable people for extended periods of time. On arrival and our southern border began to rise sharply in 2018, the decision to detain everyone there to severe overcrowding. The dhs also inspected the general and attorneys and members of congress including me observed and reported on the conditions inside they used to facilities for months. Cdp throughout this crisis, said they face severely constrained despite congress providing billions in humanitarian funding in early. In 2019. Standing room only failed. Inadequate Hygiene Products and family kept outside in extremely bearable temperature. This is commonplaces cdp facilities during the height of migrant arrivals last year. And second environment despite of illnesses, such as the flu are inevitable. Whether individual deaths cant be directly attributed to specific conditions in a given facility they are not. We need to understand whether the policies and Resource Management decisions made live the administration but lives in jeopardy. Congress can not allow dhs and cdp leaders to make poor decisions or ignore existing policies and law. Secure borders are priorities for our country and for all of us on this panel, and have been for decades. Art of our responsibility as members of congress, is to check actions live the executive branch. They are misguided. Hearing such as this are critical part of that effort. Ive strong objections to the policies the Trump Administration has been in place along our border. And they continue to endanger the safety of Migrant Children. Such as those who remain in mexico. I hope to hear from our dhs witnesses this morning that the department will take its responsibility for people in its custody more seriously going forward. One child dead, was one too many. Im eager to know what the Department Plans to do differently in order to safeguard Children Safety while in dhs custody. I think chairwoman and wrecking members from holding todays important during back. Civic thank you mr. Chairman. Other members of the subcommittee a reminding of the committee rules, Opening Statements may be submitted for the record. First witness, chief Law Enforcement operations of u. S. Border patrol. Department of homeland considered security. Is the chief of the Law EnforcementOperations Director at u. S. Border patrol headquarters in washington dc. Is responsible for oversight of the data law of Law Enforcement operations the Border Patrol sectors throughout the United States. In the physical advisor to the chief of Border Patrol on enforcement operations. He began to service with the Border Patrol open 1995, as been stationed in various sectors across all u. S. Borders and was promoted to the Senior Executive service in 2018. I second witness doctor alexander felt he spent as the senior medical officer for operations within the United States department of holland Homeland Security. In this role, is responsible for operation medicines across dhs in addition to countering goods, to the u. S. Worldwide. Previously he served as the chief of the Trauma Center at parkland Memorial Hospital as an assistant professor and trauma surgeon. The division of bird trauma and Critical Care at the university of Texas Southwestern Medical Center printed doctor eastman is also decorated Police Officer within the Dallas Police department. Without objection, the false statements will be inserted in the records. I now ask each witness to some ricin statements for five minutes. Beginning with mr. Hastings. Good morning chairman rice, and members of the committee. Cdp mission is to safe