How are we doing on the opening video . Okay. Let me know when that comes up. I want to welcome the members of the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties. I want to welcome our distinguished witnesses and guests to this hearing on the humanitarian crisis at the border. The American People are up in arms about reports both from the Inspector General of the department of Homeland Security and the media and various human Rights Groups about the dangerous overcrowding spreading infections, influenza, diarrhea and lice, pervasive medical inattention, sexual assaults and systemic abuse of migrants in u. S. Government care and custody at the border. We hope to shine a bright light this afternoon on these dark developments to enable rapid and effective legislative responses. I want to thank our first witness yasmin juarez who brings us the story of her daughter who died. We know that six children have lost their lives while in detention at the border. I want to thank all members of congress and this committee who have travelled to the border to investigate and all those who are prepared to do so in the coming weeks. The human rights the violations and family catastrophes happening at the border are not improving a serious regional refugee crisis but worsening it. What is driving this refugee crisis . Gang violence and intimidation, government dysfunction and police corruption, political persecution, rape and gender violence. They are all driving unprecedented numbers of desperate families and terrified children out of the northern triangle of Central America into the United States. Many are facing threats of imminent death or bodily harm or the prospect of their children being forced into violent gangs or criminal north americas of sexual abuse and trafficking. Some are Climate Change refugees fleeing the devastating effects of extreme drought and flooding in their home areas. The journey to the border today for these huddled masses is traumatic and filled with deadly peril. Along the way, many are robbed, as assaulted or raped. Some have been killed. Parents have drowned alongside their children in the rio grande. But hundreds of thousands have made it to our border. They turn themselves into border officials and make their legal climb for asylum, a claim they have the right to make under both american and international law. Yet they have been greeted not as refugees whose asylum claims must be heard and taken seriously under our due process of law, but is presumptive criminals and threats to the American People. The Trump Administration has prosecuted them, subjected their families to prolonged and miserable detention, separated children from their parents and forced migrants back into mexico. The entire thrust of this policy is punishment, both Court Ordered and government administered. While the Trump Administration did not cause the refugee crisis in Central America, it has exacerbated it by cutting off hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid for education, health care and Community Development to precisely the countries which the refugees are desperately fleeing in huge numbers. We owe the region at least this aid given that we are a key market for the drug trade that has recked so much violence and insecurity in these countries. Foreign policies toward Central America over the last several decades have emphasized war over economic and social development. The administrations responses have produced dangerous overcrowding, widespread sickness and disease and shocking failure to provide medical care, food, water and sanitation. Sick children packed into holding cells, pregnant women sleeping on cold floors and mothers trying to warm newborn babies with aluminum blankets. The policy of separating thousands of migrant parents from their children is designed to make conditions at the border so miserable that the refugees will stop coming. Last may then attorney general sessions said if you dont want your child to be separated, then dont bring them across the border illegal lily. The trump deterrence policy seems to be having no deterrent effect at all. According to customs and border protections own data family migrations spiked in the month after the administration announced the family separation policy and there have been sharp increases ever since unlike anything weve seen before in our lifetimes whatever these harsh policies are intended to accomplish, the message received by hundreds of thousands of people seems to be migrate now before things get worse. Our government should be sending doctors and social workers and humanitarian supplies to the border along with asylum officers and helegal resources. We should make sure that all of the money spent at the border is not being wasted but used to meet the urgent needs of the migrants. Last week the department of Homeland Securitys Inspector General warned of a ticking time bomb at Border Patrol detention facilities. The i. G. Cited children crammed into cages with no access to showers or hot meals and serious overcrowding and prolonged detention for adults, some in standing room only conditions with no room to lie or even sit down president at the Border Patrol station in clinlt, texas the New York Times reported outbreaks ofscabies, and chickenpox. The stench of the childrens dirty clothing would spread to the agents own children. One girl seemed likely enough to try to kill herself that the agents made her sleep on a cot in front of them so they could watch her as they were processing new arrivals. There is no excuse for our government being so unprepared and indifferent to refugee flows that have been steadily mounting for months. These conditions violate american law and International Human rights standards. We would not accept these conditions for refugees anywhere else in the world. The Trump Administration reversed a policy, for example, that largely protected pregnant women from detention. Over 200 human rights and civil Rights Groups have called for the policys reinstatement, noting the current arbitrary detention of pregnant women violates International Human rights norms. Last week the dhs Inspector General reported that 31 of children across five facilities had been held longer than 72 hours in violation of flores, the 1997 Settlement Agreement that required children to be placed in safe and sanitary conditions and directs children be transferred out of detention facilities as expeditiously as possible. There have now been news reports of Migrant Children detained for much longer than 72 hours and many for weeks. There is a dangerous lack of accountability at detention facilities. We know that many officers are doing their best under these trying conditions but after recent reports there is little doubt that there is a real contingent of Border Agents acting in callous and scandalous ways, punishing scared children, mocking Migrant Deaths on facebook and even attacking in vile ways members of congress who dare to demand fair treatment for migrants under the rule of law. Im pleased that the acting secretary has pledged to investigate these reports but reportedly top Border Patrol officials have been aware of the Facebook Group and its egregious contents for many months and even years. What sort of culture exists within dhs that would foster or tolerate this behavior for so long . Why did the administration and its allies block efforts to ensure that increased funding for the border be accompanied by provisions to ensure responsible oversight over how our money as taxpayers is being spent . How can we end official tolerance for these shameful actions in our name . I hope our hearing today will bring these difficult fact into the light and pose hard questions about official actions that shame us as a society. Not as democrats or republicans or independents but as americans. I also hope that this hearing in conjunction with chairman cummings full hearing on pride will provide immediate steps for relief and change in these conditions. Ill now do to the video before i turn it over to our Ranking Member mr. Roy. Just how grim conditions are inside border detejs ntion facilities in south texas. New photos show severe overcrowding. The incoming president of the American Academy of pediatrics telling cbs news they are no place for children. When i opened the door, the first thing that hit us was the smell and it was a smell of sweat, europeurine and feces. At three facilities they visited, investigators say children had no access to showers and at two facilities no access to hot meals. The children are hardly being fed anything nutritious and they are being medically neglected. We are seeing a flu outbreak and a lice infestation. We have children sleeping on the floor. Its the worst conditions ive ever witnessed in several years of doing these inspections. Cbs news has confirmed that a sixth migrant child has died after crossing the u. S. Mexico border. Previously officials had confirmed the deaths of five Migrant Children since december, but an official at the department of health and Human Services told cbs news Late Wednesday that an unaccompanied 10yearold girl from el salvador died in u. S. Custody in september. I had people there that told me that the job they are doing is incredible. The chair now recognizes the Ranking Member of the subcommittee mr. Roy of texas for five minutes for his Opening Statement and i will be liberal with that. I thank the chairman. Ms. Juarez, on behalf of this committee, all the members here, the entire house of representatives, there are no words that we can possibly share with you about the loss of your little girl. Im the father of a son and a daughter. I cannot possibly imagine what you have gone through. We owe it to you and to our country and to all those who seek to come here to have a system that works and to not having Something Like this happen. So my prayers for my family to you and we thank you for being here. Mr. Chairman, i have to say i am frustrated, though, with the title of the hearing. Its setting a tone that doesnt allow us to come together to address this difficult problem in a way that is befitting of the United States and our welcoming nature as a country. It is a hearing entitled kids in cages. What we say and the hyperbole we use matters. As a member from texas and a former staffer on the Senate Judiciary committee as a member of congress, ive been to the border many times and to this day i have never seen a kid in a cage the way those words seem to indicate it. Lets look at the advertisements for this hearing, okay . The slide on the right is the ad for this hearing, showing pictures of kids supposedly in cages. The picture on the left is the picture from 2014 when president obamas dhs secretary jeh johnson was giving a tour of a facility where youve got, yes, chain link barriers put up in temporary facilities at that time under the Obama Administration in a way too d d with a crisis in 2014 and trying to deal with the problem of massive numbers of people coming across the border, oftentimes with parents that arent the parents claiming to be the parents of the child, which is horrific. Often times in facilities in dealing with situations where you want to separate the children from bad actors. In the most recent time weve had 144,000 people that cbp had to deal with in may. How do you deal with that . Under the most generous circumstances of trying to figure out what to do to care with children, release them to family members, give them food, give them health care, how would we have them do it when were denying them the facilities and the resources to it. We should discuss the humanitarian crisis. The red line, you see the massive spike in apprehensions. The numbers in june were 94,987, the highest june number recorded in at least the last five years. It was down from 144,000 in may. That often happens because of the heat in june. I personally saw an overwhelming number of going above and beyond. We all agree theyre stretched. There is no disagreement in this room on that. Ive seen the facilities and ive not seen a single cage in the way its being depicted. Im seeing ways to try to separate people and keep them safe. And we demean the process and our Border Patrol agents who are Law Enforcement officers for the government of the United States trying to do their job when we call them cages. It is not helpful to use this crisis that so many denied and called manufactured now to score political points. In this fiscal year more than 694,000 aliens have been apprehended whether they were claiming asylum or straight coming illegally. On february 5th t15th the presi declared a national emergency. That request and the followup was ignored. And the situation grew so dire i found myself in agreement with the Editorial Board of the New York Times who said it is time for congress to stop dithering. For five months we listened to come of our colleagues say there is no crisis. Speaker pelosi called the situation a fake crisis at the border. Foreign Relations Committee chairman engel called it a fake crisis. Jerry nadler, there is no crisis at the border. Represent wasserman schultz. I could go on and on. There are dozens of examples, hundreds of examples. Instead of focusing on the magnets that will allow cartels to exploit women and children, some in this body would rather attack the men and women on the front lines of the crisis. In the face of our willful blindness, cpb has performed over 3,000 rescues this year. 3,000 rescue this is year including last month in laredo where they rescued 14 migrants locked in a horse trailer that was 114 degrees inside with no ventilation and exit. These are all complex questions and i wish we would all sit in a room, roll our sleeves up and sit down and try to figure out how to solve the problem. The reality is cbp is out there saving lives. Agencies such as cbp do not have enough resources to respond to the crisis while also performing their Law Enforcement duties. Were oversight. We should go dig into that statement. Lets go make sure there arent children going hungry. Of course were worried about it, this is now his words. Everyone in the entire chain of command was worried about the situation for children. Thats why we built soft sided facilities, a thousand spaces. Were building more were going to be opening next week. Were trying to provide as much space as we can while children were in your custody. The big point was to move them to hhs. 1200 have been with us over three days. Now that we have the supplemental from congress, the supplemental that was being denied, hhs has additional beds. Thats a huge improvement and thats his words. Today i talked to a cbp official who said at no point in time has a cbp facility been lacking in supplies for Migrant Children. We should look into that and make sure thats the case. Cbp began paying for supplies out of their operational budget. Sometimes they paid out of their own pockets. Importantly my chief of staff went to clint this weekend because i felt so strongly. He looked and he talked and he saw and he took pictures. He observed some of the pictures youre going to see here which is from a video from a border parole head i believe in arizona. Facilities are receiving lots of materials and supplies and food. Theres other pictures that show other materials and supplies and food. Can i guarantee that all of that got to every person whos been detained . No. But this is what were getting in terms of information and what were seeing. Ive southeastern with my own eyes with facilities in mcallen where theyll talk to Border Patrol and go well this all looks great. They walk across the street and get in front of a camera and they say kids in cages. Thats not going to solve the problem. Thats not going to help ms. Juarez. Thats not going to help stop the cartels who made 2 billion in 2018 profiting by moving people through mexico to come here. Hundreds of millions of dollars. T even if you believe this is because the northern triangle is suffering calamitous situations economically in terms of safety and security and gangs, agreed. But what were talking about is a profit model that cartels are abusing to use for profit and use our asylum laws to harm these people and harm that father and that child that died in the river trying to come here. Ive gone longer than i probably should have, mr. Chairman. I appreciate the time. We have a broken immigration system. I believe we need to fix the asylum problem, the flores Settlement Agreement. We need to have a strong collective agreement. Charitable donations freedom act, if anyone wants to give something, they can give charitable gifts. I dont know if its necessary but lets Work Together to bring down barriers to make sure people are cared for. I dont believe the cbp isnt doing everything it can be to ensure human beings are being treated the way they should. Mr. Roy, thank you very much. Now, we have two panels today. The first panel has just one witness and thats yasmin juarez. Im going to swear her in. We are very grateful to you for your appearance today. We extend you our condolences, our situation thi our sympathy and our gratitude. You are accompanied today by jasmine rambeau. You have a headset or you can do simultaneously translation for ms. Juarez when members speak or ask questions. I believe were expecting votes to be called in about half an hour, i think the last i heard. So we will let the witness testify. We will have whatever questions there. When we return well open up with the second panel. Id like to swear you in. Please stand if you would, ms. Juarez, and raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony youre about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Let the record show that the witness answers in the affirmative. I thank you, ms. Juarez. Please be seated. Without objection, your written statement will be made part of the record. I also without objection will waive onto the committee for purposes of participation today ms. Talib from michigan and mr. Graphman from wisconsin. Youre now recognized to speak to the committee. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator first of all, id like to thank each and every one of you and may jesus bless each and every one of you. Thank you chairman raskin, Ranking Member roy and members of the committee for inviting me. My name is yasmin juarez. My daughter and i fled guatemala seeking asylum in the United States. We made this journey because we feared for our lives. The trip was dangerous, but i was more afraid of what might happen to us if we stayed. So we came to the United States where i hoped to build a better, safer life for us. Unfortunately that did not happen. Instead i watched my baby girl die slowly and painfully just a few months before her 2nd birthday. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator it is painful for me to relive this experience and remember that suffering, but i am here because the world should know what is happening to so many children inside of i. C. E. Detention. My beautiful girl is gone, but i hope her story will spur this countrys government to act so that many children do not die because of neglect and mistreatment. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator maria had always been a super happy, very healthy baby. She made the journey from guatemala without any problems. We were held in cbp custody for three or four days in a facility known as the icebox because its freezing cold. We were locked in a cage with about 30 other people, moms and children, and forced to sleep on a concrete floor. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator we were sent to the i. C. E. Detention center in texas. A nurse examined maria when we arrived and found her healthy. We were packed into a room with five other people, mothers are children, a total of 12 people in our room. I noticed immediately how many Sick Children there were in detention, that no effort was being made to separate the sick from the healthy or to care for them. One of the little boys in our room was sick. As a mother, this was very hurtful to see. His mom tried to take him to the clinic but they kept sending him back without being seen, without care. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator within a week of being at dilly, maria got sick, my little girl. First it was coughing and sneezing and a lot of nasal secretions. I brought her to the clinic where i waited in line with many other, many other people in a gymnasium to get medical care. When the physicians assistant saw her days after she said that maria had a respiratory infection and prescribed tylenol and honey for her cough. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator the next day, however, maria was worse. She was running a fever of over 140 degrees and began having diarrhea and vomiting as well. She wouldnt eat and i remember her head and her little body felt so hot and she was weak. On this day they told me she had an ear infection and gave her antibiotics. I begged them to do deeper exams but they sent us back to our room. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator i tried to come back multiple times to the clinic. Id wait in lines from early in the morning with dozens of other mothers with their Sick Children. Twice i would told away and told to go back to my room. [ speaking Foreign Language]. Translator maria lost almost 8 of her body weight in just ten days. She was still vomiting constantly. When she was finally seen by a doctor, they told me to give her pedialyte and vicks vapo rub. I didnt learn until after she died when i was researching it online that you arent supposed to give vicks to kids under 2 years old because it could cause respiratory problems. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator my baby got sicker. She was vomiting constantly. Her fever kept going up. She wouldnt eat or sleep. Her body was weak. And when i finally received a notice that maria had an appointment to be seen by a doctor, i was so relieved, though that didnt happen. We were told we were going to be processed for transfer out of detention. At that point, i was relieved because i thought i would actually be able to take her to see a doctor. As a mother, it was very important for me to do that. It was very difficult for me to see her suffering. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator what happened was that at 5 00 a. M. We were taken, awoken and taken to be processed for transfer out of detention. There we waited for hours. She was not taken to the clinic to be seen by medical staff. I later found out that her medical records said that she had been cleared as someone with no medical restrictions, but it did not happen that way. She was never seen. Even though it says that on her records, as her mother, i can say that she was not seen. [ speaking foreign languag. Translator i was terrified by the time our plane landed. We took maria to the pediatrician as soon as we could and just a few hours later to the emergency room. She was admitted to the intensive care unit with a viral lung infection. Over the next six weeks she was transferred to another childrens hospital. My little girl suffered horrible pain. She was poked and prodded and eventually needed a ventilator to help her breathe. I couldnt even hold her or hug her or console her when she asked for her mother. It was a terrible pain to see my child in a situation and circumstance like this one. As a mother, i wish that i could have taken her place. [ speaking Foreign Language]. Translator all of the hard work of these doctors came too late. My maria died on what is mothers day in my country. When i walked out of the hospital that day, all i had with me was a piece of paper with marias hand prints in pink paint that the staff had created for me. It was the only thing that i had left and the nurses had given it to me as a mothers day gift. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator im here today because i want to put an end to this. It is very hard to see so many children and for none of them to be my daughter and to think that i will never see her again or hug her or enjoy being with her or tell her just how much i love her. It is very hard. You have no idea how hard it is to move forward without my little girl. Its like they tore out a piece of my heart, like they tore out my soul. Im suffering every day. It is difficult to get up and move forward without her. I wanted to have a better life for her and a Better Future and work hard so that she could keep growing the way that she was. But now we wont be able to do that because she is gone. Im here today to put an end to this and that we not allow any more children to suffer and die in this way. Maria could be here with us, but she is not. Next month she would have been 3 years old. That is a very painful date for me. Its painful to not have her with me and show her what i feel and say what i want for her. I have no words to describe that. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator my daughter is gone. The people who are in charge of running these facilities and caring for these Little Angels are not supposed to let these things happen to them. Their parents have brought them here to find a better life and a safer life for their children. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator im here today because i dont want any more Little Angels to suffer the way maria did and the way i am now. I dont want any more mothers or fathers to lose children. It cant be so hard for a country like the United States to protect kids who are locked up. It is very hard. You dont know the terror that mothers and children feel when they see children in cages, hungry, cold, without the warmth of a home. Just hundreds of other people in the same situation that they are in. It is very painful. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator if i had the power to change things and do it right and protect children, believe me that i would. I thank god for giving me a heart that is noble but weak. It is very painful to see what children are going through and to want to do something and not be able to. I want to thank you with all of my heart and i want god to bless each and every one of you by name. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and to be able to offer my testimony. I trust in god that you will have the power to change things and make a difference so that children and mothers will not have to suffer. Its a terrible thing. You have no idea what the pain is that this means. To not have her here with me. So my infinite thanks to you and if theres anything to do to make a difference, i will. Thank you. Ms. Juarez, thank you for your testimony. Words cannot express the sympathy that we feel towards you. Words cannot express our sorrow at hearing your story and words cannot express our gratitude to you for having the strength to come forward to tell about these horrific events that have taken place. If youre okay taking a few questions, i just have one or two and then ill turn to the Ranking Member to see if he has any and if any other members of the committee have anything that they want to ask you. In fact, let me start with you, mr. Roy. Weve gone over with the witness. Im happy to donate the lions share of my time to the witnesss presentation. Do you have anything youd like to ask . Ms. Juarez, i would just reiterate the statement of the chairman and the statement that i tried to open with that you said it. There are no words. Very thankful for your faith and for your blessing upon us and for your courage in being here. Thank you for being here. You know, ms. Juarez, our country is a nation of immigran immigrants, except for the descendants of slaves and the native americans, all of us are here as immigrants. Were the descendents of immigrants. Our ancestors, our parents, our grandparents saw america as a land of hope and dreams and opportunity. I know that you cant talk specifically about what you left behind in guatemala for legal reasons. Your lawyers have advised you not to get into the detail there. But i wonder if you would talk to us about what america represented to you, what moved you to try to get to america with maria when you came. [ speaking Foreign Language] translator yes, of course. As you said, the United States is the land of opportunity, work, important doctors. And in my country they say the american dream. So my wish and the purpose of bringing my child here was to move forward with her to have her grow and to be able to give her all of the things that i would not be able to give her in my country. Because this is a country of freedom and opportunities. We had so many wishes and dreams when we came here, you cant imagine. Now i will definitely make that difference that the u. S. Represents. It represents that dream and opportunity and work and freedom above everything else. Thank you. Im going to call on ms. Maloney from new york. Members, you know, were in sort of a modified fiveminute rule. Obviously the witness has been through a lot but if theres one or two questions youd like to ask, i think that works out well. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you, ms. Juarez. This was very difficult to hear your testimony and i know it was even more different to give your testimony. So why are you here in what is such an obviously painful experience for you to remember the horror of what your maria went through . Why are you here . [ speaking Foreign Language] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] translator im here today because i want to tell all people of all the world, in all countries, especially in the United States, that we need to make a change and make a difference to actually care and protect kids more. I. C. E. Detention centers are terrible, inadequate, places to lock children up, im sorry to say, as if they were animals. It is difficult to have to say that, but i repeat that im here because i want to make a difference to help more children in the name and in the memory of maria, and if its possible to make that difference and to make that change, believe me, i want that to happen. You described ms. Maloney, forgive me. Ive learned that votes are about to be called in a moment. Would you be willing to cede to some other members so everybody could ask a question . Would that be okay . Yes. Ill just recognize them. I saw, miss tlaib, you had your hand, if youd like to ask a question, ms. Wassermanschultz, ms. Ocasioocasiocortez. Thank you so much for being here. I wanted to ask, its so important because you in many ways experienced something that we saw ourselves in many ways when we went to el paso. But you referred to it as the i. C. E. Box. You also talked about your daughter not getting access to care and so forth. Would you talk a little bit more about the conditions that you and your daughter were in . I think it would be really helpful for my colleagues to understand how it felt. You know, sometimes you dont think about this, but the food, when i went there, people were just, like, sleeping, just constantly laying down and the children were jumping on top of the body. You know, the kids were energetic, jumping around, didnt they were all, again, in the same facility. I think its really important to talk about your experience while you were in our care. [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] translator sure. When i was admitted into the i. C. E. Detention facility, we spent a very cold night. That entire Early Morning sleeping on concrete with what they this gray thing they said it was a blanket, but its socalled blanket, but its not that for me. The food was not appropriate for a child. It didnt have the proper nutrients for the health of a child nor the proper hygienic situation. It looks like the food went through many hands and that many more germs then that could make a child sick or an adult sick. And children dont really have the natural defenses to be able to ward off any kind of serious illnesses. And in my experience with maria, she was a happy, healthy, child, thank god, when we were back in our country. We didnt suffer any serious illnesses until we got here into the United States, but in the e detention facility, there were hundreds of people who were sick, children and adults, and it was very difficult to see that. It was very difficult to see hundreds of people standing in line trying to be seen for medical consults, and what happened to me and many other people is that we had to go back and be turned away without receiving that kind of help and that, to me, seems like most negligent thing. And that what would be necessary is greater attention and supervision to the health of children which should be the priority. Thank you. For one question, mr. Clay, and then ms. Wassermanschultz. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Let me make a statement and then ask one question. You know, this disgraceful detention policy starts at the top. Starts with president trump, stephen miller, who initiated this policy, dhs implements it. You know, we as americans should be ashamed of what has transpired at these detention centers, and if you are not, you have lost your soul and compassion for others. Let me just ask one question. In your testimony, ms. Juarez, you noted that you begged a nurse to examine maries lungs after she had been coughing for over two weeks. Did the nurse give you a reason for not examining maries lungs . [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] translator i was never given an explanation of why they didnt do more serious tests. Actually, one night we were in my room and we were going to go eat and so i was trying to wake her up and i shook her, wake up, were going to go eat, and she didnt react. So, obviously, as a mother, my reaction was to, you know, try to wake her up to go eat and to worry very much when she wouldnt wouldnt wake up, so i begged after that point, i begged that we be given an appointment because it was n nnot able to we werent able to see a doctor without having an appointment. So when we finally were seen, what they did was take her temperature and give her ice cream and they told me that that would help with her fever, but i think that was worse for her lungs. In my country, when a child is sick, you cover them up, but not here. They gave her a popsicle, which i think made her lungs sicker but they said it was good for her fever. It actually made he wonder about the professionalism. And actually i even i took her to see a doctor and she was vomiting in front of the doctor and they still wouldnt do any more serious tests with her, and i was just i was saying, you know, whatever it takes, you can take me handcuffed if you want to, but i really wanted them to have her see a specialist because it seemed that whatever she had was something more serious. You can tell just by the sadness in their eyes and it was a very painful thing to experience. Okay. So were going to go to ms. Wasserm wassermanschultz, were going to go to mr. Roy, were going to go to ms. Pressley and miss ocasiocortez and that will take us to an end. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senor juarez. [ speaking Foreign Language ] my question is focused on the medical record that makes it appear that your daughter was actually seen by a medical professional on march 25th, 2018. First, no one warned you that your daughter may be too sick to travel . It says on the medical record that she was cleared for travel. Is that correct . Yeah. And just to be clear on the date of this medical record, which is on the screen, mariee did not actually see a doctor, correct . Yeah. Correct. And so there was no medical evaluation of your daughter that actually happened on your last day in the facility or on the which was the day that this medical record was produced. No. Translator no, not at all. So, mr. Chairman, what my concern is that if i. C. E. Medical records of migrants like senor juarez can be fabricated which it appears that this one may have been, how many more fraudulent medical records might be out there . I mean, shes testifying here under oath. We have to get to the bottom of this and ensure that the medical records that are being produced by i. C. E. Are accurate and that theyre not just making them up to cover up their neglect. Its unacceptable. Thank you very much, ms. Wassermanschultz. Mr. Roy. Ms. Juarez. [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] translator of course. After everything that happened in my country, i dont want to go back. I dont have my family here. Im here now. And my dream is to move forward, to work, to study, to learn, so that in the future, when im a mother again, i can teach them everything that i fought so hard for and everything that i have struggled to study and learn along the way. Thank you. Ms. Pressley. Thank you, mr. Chair. Ms. Juarez, i just wanted to state for the record that you did nothing wrong and you certainly did nothing to deserve this. Seeking asylum is a human right, and you did what any mother or parent would have done for their child. You sacrificed everything for your safety and the safety of your baby. You left everything you knew for the chance of a better life. You said that you have a noble but weak heart. You underestimate your strength. And in this moment, you are embodying every american ideal that we espoused that we do, and i thank you for that. It is unfortunate that our country is no longer standing by its promise of being a beacon of hope and haven for those like you seeking asylum. Instead, this administration has criminalized peoples and is now operating a fundamentally flawed system that is systemically separating families and engaging in human rights abuses on u. S. Soil. So all i want to say to you from the bottom of my heart, as mom, as an american, and as a human being, is that i am sorry. Im so very sorry that we have failed you, and i also want to say that i will never forget what you shared with us today, even if im tempted to or want to because it is painful and traumatic and shameful, but i refuse to forget. We will not forget you or mariee. We will not look away. Thank you. Thank you, ms. Pressley. Ms. Ocasiocortez. Thank you, mr. Chair. Gracias senor juarez. [ speaking Foreign Language ] i dont [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] si or no . No. [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] excuse me just for one lets translate, unless i think probably not. So if you could translate the last exchange. To the first question about whether theres safe and sanitary conditions as mandated under u. S. Law, in her opinion, the answer was no. The second question about whether or not there was a culture of cruelty that she saw under i. C. E. Conditions, i guess i can get into the answer of that so far which was that when i was in detention, when i was in the cage, and we had a phone interview with immigrations and i. C. E. Officials, they asked me why i was here. [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaking Foreign Language ] ill let her translate quickly, but [ speaking Foreign Language ] [ speaki ining Foreign Language] [ speaking Foreign Language ] no. Gracias. As to the question as to being on the telephone during the interview, why i was here and what i had come for and i responded that i had come here, i was talking about my childs future, but they wouldnt let me talk and they said, you know, this country is for americans, trump is my president , and we can take your little girl away from you and lock you in jail. And i just started to cry because i really didnt have any words to respond to that in that situation. To me, that is mistreatment. To the question of were you called crude names . Personally, no, but it was the nastiness of the words that were the strong words that were used, for me, like, what, just calling me an immigrant but not really letting me respond when they used strong words toward me and to really be able to give them any kind of appropriate response. To the question of did you feel safe . No. And mr. Chair, i just think its extremely important that this is noted that this is not an issue, you know, there are debates about money and resources. Thats for another day, but what is being pointed to here is a culture of cruelty. To have a cbp officer tell a migrant woman escaping unspeakable horrors in her home country and tell them this country is for americans and that and to threaten separating her from her daughter, to threaten a human rights violation, is extraordinarily concerning and at a bare minimum grounds for Serious Investigation by this committee and other entities. Thank you. And thats what were doing. So thank you very much, ms. Ocasiocortez. Were there any other members who had any other questions that they wanted to ask . Ms. Kelly, did you have anything or no . Not really a question. Questions have been asked, but just to give my sympathy and sorry and hope in your quest that this will never happen again to anybody else, but thank you for sharing. Ms. Juarez, your storys broken the heart of america, but your courage gives us a Second Chance to get it right. We want to thank you. What youve done and you have friends and admirers on this committee for coming forward. We are going to recess for the purpose of voting. We will resume with the second panel immediately after votes. This House Oversight subcommittee hearing is taking a break now for votes on the house floor. Well return to live coverage when they gavel back in. While we wait, well take a look at a secret Service Briefing on mass attacks in public u. S. Places. Thank you, cathie. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. Earlier today, the secret service and our National Threat assessment center, or ntac, as we call it, briefed nearly 400 of our Strategic Partners on its most recent report entitled mass attacks in public space s mass attacks in public space p for the calendar year 2018. As we all know its a matter of grave concern to everyone and especially those of us in Law Enforcement. Im certainly grateful to dhs acting secretary mcaleenan joining us today, showing his support, the secret Service Continue to bring attention to this critically important sujt. Back in the 1990s the secret service which by that point had long been involved in threat investigations and Threat Management embarked on a comprehensive study as to the thinking and behavior of persons who engaged in violence against Public Officials or public figures. The results of that study set the