Overstretched Immigration Enforcement system. And this provides Additional Resources for immigration judg judges, for the Legal Orientation Program, and for counsel for minors. As has been mentioned earlier today on this floor, we have an International Obligation when children fleeing violence present legitimate claims for Refugee Status, to make sure they have their day in court before either repatriating them to their country of origin or allowing them Refugee Status here. This emergency supplemental would increase the funding so that there wouldnt be such an enormous backlog of cases, so that there would be a Legal Orientation Program which has a proven record of success. While it doesnt provide personal counsel to everyone awaiting trial, it gives out basic information so that legitimate claims can be made and illegitimate claims dont waste the time of our Immigration Courts. Last, providing counsel to minor children, its a small portion of this total supplemental, but if youve got a child who is a victim of child trafficking, who has a valid asylum claim, they have to be given the opportunity to present a valid claim. We already know funding in these areas are insufficient to meet this surge in refugee minors seeking the relief of the American Country and court system and i think we have to do both, invest in ensuring stability in the three countries in Central America from which tens of thousands of children are fleeing, and invest in ensuring that our Border Security, our Immigration Courts and the reasonable and appropriate process for separating out those who are legitimate refugees from those who are seeking access to our country illegally is done in a fair and appropriate way. A refugee crisis is not the time for us to abandon our laws or our values. Its the time for us to enforce and abide by those laws fairly and efficiently. And to do so i think, frankly, our best solution would be to have the house take up, consider and pass the comprehensive immigration bill, the bipartisan immigration bill that was taken up and passed by this chamber over a year ago. Frankly, madam president , i think this crisis is in no small part because of a critical opportunity that we missed a year ago to legislate in a responsible, bicameral and bipartisan way, to invest more on the border, to invest more in stabilizing the region, and to invest more in ensuring that we have the resources in our courts to deliver justice in this country appropriately. With that, thank you, and i yield the floor. Coming up, a hearing on protecting the border. G on after that, reducing poverty. Tune into the tv for the harlem book fair. Multicultural book publishing. At 11 45rage starts eastern on book tv. He hearing on Security Issues at the usmexico border and the influx of unaccompanied children from Central America. Officials from several Government Agencies testified before the Homeland Security committee. This is two hours 45 minutes. Let me begin today by calling us to order. And thanking our witnesses for joining us to discuss the current humanitarian challenge that is playing out along our southern border with mexico. Unaccompanied children as young as 4 years old arriving in record numbers almost every day. Before discussing the administrations robust response to this Current Situation, however, i think its important to try to put things into context. Over the past decade, weve made significant progress in securing our borders. Since 2003, for example, weve spent about quarter of a trillion dollars to enforce our immigration laws. More than doubling the size of the Border Patrol along the way. Weve also built 670 miles of fencing and deployed force mu i multiplier multipliers, such as hightech cameras, drones, and other aircraft up and down our border. 2006, just eight years ago, the Border Patrol apprehended more than 1 Million People at the border. Last year, we stopped just over 420,000. Some got through, most did not. While the most recent recession played a role in that drop, i think its clear the investments weve made in recent years have paid off. Although overall, migration is still at historic lows, were now facing a large surge, as we know, in undocumented immigration from the Central American countries, including unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied children and families showing up at our borders. Some are saying that the Current Situation shows that our borders are not secure. I dont believe this is true. Let me be clear. These children and their families are not slipping past our borders undetected. They are being apprehended in large numbers by the Border Patrol, almost as soon as they touch the u. S. , often turning themselves in voluntarily. People from Central America, unlike mexico, must be flown back to their countries. This is a costly process that can take months and sometimes even years. This process is even more complicated for unaccompanied children and families, because our laws, appropriately, require different treatment for these groups. Children must be handed over to the department of health and Human Services and families must be detained in special facilities that include Educational Opportunity for children. Our Border Security system has been overwhelmed by the sheer number of these children and families. The administration and secretary johnson have responded to the situation with what i describe as an all hands on deck approach. The federal Emergency Management administration is coordinating with the department of Homeland Security wide response to the problem. The department of defense has provided space in some of its military installations to house unaccompanied minors until health and Human Services can find a placement for them. And we surged Immigration Judges and other personnel to the border to help process these individuals. Finally, just yesterday, the Administration Proposed some 3. 7 billion in emergency funding to deal with this situation. And while were still trying to drill down on it and understand fully what it calls for, we do know that the department of Homeland Security will receive 1. 5 billion to detain and deport more families, build some temporary additional detention facilities for the Border Patrol, and enhance investigations into human smuggling networks. These resources are urgently needed. Im concerned, however, that while we continue to focus a great deal of attention on the symptoms of the problems along the border, we also continue to focus too little attention in addressing the underlying causes. As i mentioned earlier, we spent nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars securing our borders since 2003. At the same time, only a small fraction of this amount has been invested in addressing the root causes in Central America that are encouraging young people and their families to risk life and limb and make the long and dangerous trek to south texas. Seeking a better life in the United States is nothing new. Most of us here today are here because someone in our family a generation or more ago decided to come here to take advantage of what america has to offer. But for some of those Central Americans, especially, the children and parents, who often send them on their journeys, the decision can be a desperate one. Life in parts of guatemala, el salvador, and honduras is more than difficult today. It can be deadly. Ive seen it firsthand, even this year. Violence has been steadily increasing in the region, with homicide rates in all three countries among the highest in the entire world. Kidnapping and extortion are endemic. Meanwhile, these countries have stagnant economies to create too few jobs and opportunities for their citizens. Faced with this violence and lack of hope at home, people from the region are voting with their feet and risking their lives and a nearly 1,500 mile journey to the United States. I believe that the u. S. , along with mexico, along with colombia, and along with many others, need to do a better job of helping Central American countries help themselves. How . In a large part, by helping them create a more nurturing environment for job creation. Restore the rule of law. Lower energy costs. Improve Workforce Skills and access to capital. And improve the prospects for the young people so that more of them are willing, even eager, to stay home and help build their country up. Im dismayed to hear some of our colleagues suggest that the answer is to cut off funding for these countries. And while im a strong advocate of tough love, i believe in tough love, it strikes me as an extremely shortsighted step to take and one that will likely do more harm than good in the long run. Colombia would be a failed nation today instead of one with a vibrant economy thats become a strong ally of hours. Do our neighbors and their leaders in Central America need to do more to provide a broader future for their own citizens . You bet they do. But this is not the time to abandon them. Do we really think that making things worse in this country is going to somehow improve the situation on our borders . I dont think so. Im encouraged that the administration has included 300 million in its emergency supplemental request for the state department, some of which will be used to deal with the root causes of south american migration. But these funds should be seen as a down payment. This cannot be one and done. If were serious about improving conditions in this region, we need to do more, and frankly, so will others. And i would emphasize this. This is a shared responsibility. This shouldnt be all on americas shoulders. This is a shared responsibility and it includes the mexicans and colombians and other countries in latin america. It includes Development Banks and so far. But keep in mind, plan colombia took more than a decade to bear fruit. I think we face a similar commitment here today. Hopefully not that long, but a similar commitment. And in making that commitment will not only prove ourselves good neighbors, but ensure that we wont continue to face an expensive humanitarian crisis at our borders a decade from now. Addressing the factors that are pushing people out of Central America is important, but we also need to address the factors that are pulling them here in the first place. Some are saying that the current surge in migration from Central America is somehow tied to the actions that president obama has taken, to help undocumented immigrants, who are brought here as children, years ago, come out of the shadows and live without fear. Many of those making this argument are the same people who oppose Immigration Reform and have rejected our Bipartisan Senate efforts to update the outdated immigration laws that often drive people to try and enter our country illegally. From what i have seen and heard, the biggest factor that pulls people to come here is the desire to have a better life. A job in the United States. But a broken immigration systems dont do enough to provide legal avenues for workers we want and need, nor does it provide the most effective tools to ensure the providers dont exploit undocumented workers. The Senate Passed a comprehensive Immigration Reform bill more than a year ago. I would be the first to say, it is not perfect. Other parts, would i like to change . You bet i would. And im sure others feel the same way. It would tackle some of the root causes that are pulling these migrants to come here and live and work by providing them legal avenues to do so and return to their own countries. It also further increases the security of our borders and enforce our immigration and workforce laws in the interior of the country. Lastly, Congressional Budget Office concluded that the Immigration Reform bill passed by the senate would increase our countrys gdp, increase our countrys gdp, but i think, anywhere from 3 to 5 . And increase our budget deficit by almost 1 trillion. 1 trillion over the next 20 years. And yet just last week, we learned that our friends in the house of representatives the not to debate Immigration Reform this year. I believe this is a mistake. I truly hope theyll reconsider this decision. With that having been said, let me turn to my friend, dr. Coburn, and then well hear from our witnesses. I would ask unanimous consent that my remarks be without objection. Submitted. I would welcome each of you here. Ill make some observations, as ive studied this. Number one is that weve known about this problem escalating since january and yet there was no mention of it or any request for it in the president s budget. Number two is the best way to stop the flow is to send them back. I understand our 2008 law, in terms of the trafficking law, prohibits us to do that at this time in a timely manner, but, in fact, if we want to stop this flow. Number three, the root cause of this can be mediated somewhat by our ally, the mexican government. And whether or not weve done everything we can do in that regard to utilize their help in this problem remains to be seen. I want to welcome each and every one of you being here. And i submitted your questions ahead of time so we can get complete answers for the record. Thank you, dr. Coburn. I want to provide brief introductions for our witnesses and listen to you and well have a good conversation. Our first witness is no stranger here, craig fugate. William craig fugate. And mr. Few grait is the administrator of the federal Emergency Management industry. Mr. Fugate has helped coordinate Emergency Management efforts between all levels of government. External partners in the private and Community Sectors prior to joining fema, mr. Fugate served as the director of Florida Division of Emergency Management. Craig, nice to see you. Thanks for joining us and for your service. Second witness today is gale kerlikowske. In this position, he oversees this nations dual mission of protecting national and security objectives while promoting economic security. As commissioner, he runs the largest federal Law Enforcement agency and the second largest revenue collecting source in the federal government. Prior to joining cbp, mr. Kerlikowske was the director of White House Office of National Drug control policy, and as i recall, hes been the police chief in a place or two, maybe in buffalo and seattle, if im not mistaken. Our next witness is thomas minh minkowski. The through the criminal and Civil Enforcement of approximately 400 federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. And most recently, he served as the acting commissioner prior to the appointment of mr. Kerlikowske. Next we have mark greenberg. Mark is an acting assistant secretary for the administration for children and families at the department of health and Human Services. Prior to this, he directed the Georgetown University center of public policy. During his career, hes, frequently provided Technical Assistance to state and local Government RegardingPoverty Reduction strategyings. Mr. Greenberg also serves as both the principle deputy, assistant secretary, and the acting commissioner for the administration of children, youth, and families. And our next witness is francisco palmiery, the Deputy Assistant secretary for the caribbean and for the department of state. Mr. Palmieri has served and has led the latin america and Caribbean Program officers where he sponsored over 800 million in programs, including the caribbean and mexican operations in 19 Narcotics Affairs offices throughout the western hemisphere. He serves as deputy executive secretary in the department of states executive secretary. Final witness is juan osuna. Mr. Osuna serves has director of the executive office for immigration review at the department of justice, leading up to his appointment as direct, mr. Osuna served as a Deputy Attor