Subcommittee on Border Security will come to order. Subcommittee is meeting to receive testimony in examining the human rights and legal implications of dhss remain in mexico policy. Without objection the chair is authorized to declare the subcommittee in recess at any point. Good morning. Today we will examine implications of a migrant protection protocol more commonly known as the remain in Mexico Program. We will hear the perspective of practitioners who witnessed the program on the ground. Since the program went into effect on january 18, 2019, the remain in mexico policy has forced 10,000 asylumseekers to wait in mexico while their claims are processed. This summary does not begin to touch on the devastating and deceptive impact on countless lives. Prior to this programs implication, asylumseekers will stay in the United States as it moves through the court. Policy based on the humane and common sense premise that should be given temporary safe havens, deciding whether or not they will remain in our country. Under remain in mexico, migrants who arrive at the southern border in former us official they are seeking asylum, are provided a court date and sent back into mexico until their initial hearing. It is mostly from central and south america having fled their homes to escape Gang Violence and government oppression. There almost always strangers to mexico with no friends or family to rely on as they wait on a decision in the United States. And they are active and hard to come by and local government officials have been known to engage in violence and exploitation. As a result is migrants, fleeing violence and oppression, in conditions that makes no difference, families fleeing mexico to this policy face kidnapping, Sexual Assault and extortion. In addition to provoking another humanitarian crisis, remain in mexico presents a serious threat to national security. The program has created a newly vulnerable population that completely exposed exploitation by drug cartels, allowing a organization to remain along the border and even expand their reach. The administration assured lawmakers and the public the program would be carefully applied making exceptions for Mexican Nationals, nonspanish speakers, pregnant women, the Lgbt Q Community and people with disabilities. However investigations and reporting have revealed individuals from every protected category are frequently turned away and left to fend for themselves in mexican cities. The Us State Department marked is too dangerous for travel. In august 2019 dhs notified congress it would build large temporary immigration hearing facilities to conduct remain in mexico, located in brownsville these temporary facilities are functioning as virtual Immigration Court rooms, with judges appearing via videoconference from brick and mortar court rooms across the country. These facilities have become a significant cause for alarm. Like a Public Information about the proceedings, limited access to translators and attorneys and complete disregard for migrant legal rights are some of the many problems emerging from this court system. Reports describe secretive assemblyline proceedings to conduct hundreds of hearings per day. Cvp, ice and dhs provided Little Information on the functioning of these courts, despite numerous inquiries, news outlets and congressional staff. Lack of available information on operations is exacerbated by severe restrictions on who can access the facility. With barbed wire fences and security managed by private companies they are closed to public news outlets and legal advocacy organizations. Despite the clear Legal Standard that all immigration proceedings are open to the public cvp has rejected request after request to access. These facilities dramatically worsen the nature of the program by removing any ability of migrants to access legal aid. Furthermore the prohibitions on oversight expose migrants to violations of Due Process Rights established asylumseekers in us law. We invited witnesses to shed light on this untenable situation and thank them for joining us today. Are asylum laws emerged after the second world war, and the nation faces a shameful truth, we failed to provide a safe haven. Since then we grant asylum to desperate communities fleeing danger all over the world and in doing so, saved an untold number of lives. The remain in mexico policy, reprehensible step backward and the continuation of this administrations abandonment of the nations longstanding and bipartisan tradition of protecting asylumseekers and refugees. We hope to build Public Awareness of this policy and improve our own understanding that we can find a way to stop needless harm inflicted on men, women and children seeking safety in our great country. The chair recognizes the subcommittee member mister higgins. Thank you, madam chair and thank you to our witnesses for being here today. While i look forward to hearing your testimony i also would like to voice that im disappointed now dhs officials actually responsible for negotiating and implementing the migrant protection protocol agreement with the government of mexico were invited to testify today by the majority. I am also concerned by the partisan preconception surrounding the hearing title. This past year we saw crisis at the border that was referred to by some as a fake emergency, virtually explode as 977,000 people attempted to illegally enter the United States through our southwest border. That is more than we encountered in 20172018 combined, larger than the population of the entire state of delaware. Historically most legal immigrants have been single adults from mexico looking for temporary work. In fiscal year 2000, Border Patrol was able to repatriate the majority of those detained within hours. Today most Illegal Immigrants are family units and unaccompanied minors from guatemala, honduras and el salvador. This fiscal year 19 customs and Border Protection encountered 473,600 every 2 families, an increase from fiscal year 13. This change is directly tied to criminal organizations exploiting loopholes in our Immigration Laws as propaganda to convince people to bring children to the border. Migrants who have given up life savings in many cases mortgaging homes and properties, handing over to children to smugglers because they are falsely told children are visas to get into this country. Even the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly confirmed this. Smugglers dont care about the wellbeing of migrants. They only care about turning a profit. In fiscal year 19 customs and Border Protection averaged 71 hospital visits per day for migrants that arrived at the border in deteriorating health. Border patrol conducted over 4900 rescues of immigrants left to die. Former dhs secretary mc illinin testified that fraudulent family cases that have been uncovered where the adult is not the parent of the child. 1000 of those resulted in prosecutions. The cartel sending children back on commercial airlines to their own country and return to the border with different adults. Agents call this practice recycling children. Ice identified 600 children who have gone through the list. One child told investigators he was forced to make the trip 8 times. There is a common misconception that most people illegally crossing the border are seeking asylum. However less than 20 of immigrants in customs and Border Patrol custody were found to have, quote, credible fear to return to their home country. In fiscal year 18 the number was 18 and for those saying everyone is turning themselves and that is not the case. According to customs and Border Protection last year, 150,000 migrants who illegally entered this country got away from authorities, even waiting capture and making their way to the interior. Trump administration forced to act alone and has taken several Enforcement Actions to mitigate the crisis as gridlock over Immigration Reform continues in congress. Dhs implemented migrant protection protocols to cut down on overcrowding of migrants and dhs custody. The number of migrants being released into Us Communities due to immigration backlog. As one point this year cvp had almost 20,000 people in custody. They are averaging less than 3500. Dhs has invested in temporary courtrooms near southwest border ports of entry, expediting immigration hearings and it ends the economic incentive of making a meritless asylum claim considering 20 of asylum claims get favorable final judgment with every asylum applicant released in the interior is provided with work authorization. The cooperate of justice statistics point to more than 89,000 orders of removal for fiscal year 19, for those who were not detained. Mvp mitigates the risk that those removed will disappear into the United States interior. This month dhs has taken the International Organization for migration visited several shelters operated by faithbased organizations and the government of mexico to house these individuals. These shelters had a persistent Law Enforcement presence, medical care and access to food and water. Todays hearing could have been an opportunity to bring in the department to ask about that visit and discuss implementation of the program with detailed. We have seemingly forgone Factfinding Mission for something that might resemble a show trial. Nevertheless i want to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today and look forward to your testimony. I yield back. The chair recognizes the chairman of the full committee, Mister Thompson for opening statement. The subcommittee will hear how the Trump Administration remains in mexico policy has distorted by immigration the system. Effectively closing the door to people seeking safety in this country. I share the chairwomans concerns about the legal and humanitarian implications of this misguided policy and thank you for calling this hearing. The department of Homeland Security officials argue remain in mexico have allowed u. S. Customs and Border Protection to regain operational control of our border with mexico. We actually know better. The policies raise serious legal questions and created a new humanitarian crisis along the southern border. It runs contrary to our American Values. Returning migrants with known physical, mental and Developmental Disabilities in mexico is unacceptable, sending pregnant women into mexico where there is no safe housing and basic medical care for them is unacceptable. Establishing secretive courts, dhs uses to prosecute asylumseekers who wish to return to mexico runs contrary to our values. Indeed, Immigration Court proceedings are generally open to the public for the sake of transparency. American Immigration Lawyers association, aclu and Amnesty International among others regularly observe these proceedings. However these organizations have been repeatedly denied access to the temporary courts in laredo. For those of you familiar with the Rio Grande Valley, you know about the work of Catholic Charities carried out to assist migrants in that region. And also been denied entry multiple times with no real explanation as to what . These observers are desperately needed. To get into the port courts, talk about Court Operations that run roughshod over basic Due Process Rights. Paperwork is filled out with wrong information or certain information that was purposely left blank for example. Every step that can be taken to limit the amount of time to meet with their client is taken. Cbp has even allegedly fabricated future hearing dates for migrants who were granted asylum in order to return them to mexico. The administration appears intent on cutting off access to the lawful asylum process even if their actions are legally questionable for vulnerable adults and children in danger. I look forward to hearing from our founders about firsthand observation and experience to remain in mexico policy. That will inform future Committee Oversight work. Border security as long been about partisan priorities of this committee, and blocking the asylum process for Vulnerable People and risking their lives by putting them in harms way, does not make a safer. Just makes us out less than remake ourselves out to be thank you for holding the hearing and the members of the committee for their participation. I yelled back. Thank you mister chairman the Ranking Member of the full committee is recognized for an opening statement. I wholeheartedly support the remain in mexico policy. I think its an essential policy and a weight inhumane. This pastor nearly 1 million Illegal Immigrants were encountered coming across our southwest border. It led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Cbp the soldiers were overwhelmed and overrun leading to dangerous conditions both for migrants and Law Enforcement officers. Every day up to 50 of four patrol agents were taken off the line to process and care for immigrants. For months the administration requested emergency funds to deal with this crisis. For months my colleagues ignored the crisis as a fake emergency. Vital finally congress acted and provided critical emergency funding. While the funding helped it did nothing to address the root cause of the crisis and left loopholes in our asylum laws. Any legislation to close the loopholes the Trump Administration has been forced to act on its own to secure agreement with mexico honduras guatemala and el salvador to improve Security Cooperation across the region to reduce the exploitation of Immigration Law for after negotiation with mexico dhs office so implemented the Migrant Protection Protocol Program as a regional strategy to prevent abuse of asylum laws while protecting those with legitimate claims that it discourages false asylum claims and help to create wait time migrants under the program wait months compared two years for those currently in the interior to focus on reforming Immigration Laws instead of holding messaging hearings. Thank you, i yield back. I would like to seek unanimous consent the over 2018 assessment for the record. So ordered. Under Committee RulesOpening Statements may be submitted for the record without objection members not on the committee today we look for our colleagues and i welcome the Panel Witnesses the first pro bono counsel at the American Bar Association native of the Rio Grande Valley appointed at the Us State Department under the Obama Administration later serving as an immigration Trial Attorney she served as a visiting attorney with the texas civil rights project after the zero tolerance policy went into effect last summer a staff attorney for the civil rights project that advocates on behalf of immigrants and low income individuals as part of the family separation crisis last year of much of the recent efforts are assisting asylumseekers forcing to wait for the policy in mexico next the assistant professor for emergency medicine at the University Southern california asylum clinician and has worked with those in tijuana mexico over the last five years for asylum cases on both sides of the border including the individuals for weight in Mexico Program we also have the president of the American Federation local 181924 the affiliate representing more than 2500 employees in the dc region who began working with communities in 1975 in countries such as afghanistan and thailand serving as the Asylum Officer since 1992 but is a special representative for refugee asylum with use of the union and its members finally Mister Thomas holman former acting director of immigration and enforcement he began his career as a Police Officer in new york before joining the immigration naturals are shut in Service Serving as a Border Patrol agent and investigator and executive associate director. January 2017 <