Legislative branch ought to know that, as well. If we are taking folks that are here and i hesitate to say illegally because the way the law was written, which was supposed to deal with trafficking issues, where people were criminally trafficked and so legislation was passed back in 2008, as we know, and so there are some questions whether they are here legally or illegally. If people dont really have legal status and a lot of americans are concerned about are here, and we are putting them with people that are also here illegally, maybe under different circumstances, that doesnt seem like a very good idea to me. Would you agree with that . Again, im outside my lane. I dont want to substitute my judgment. I legally refer policy matter to the individuals responsible for that placement. I have one other question i wanted to get to. As you are probably aware, carnivals and Fair Industries rely on laborers, seasonal guest workers to substitute their work force. These fairs are important to americaning aagriculture and fundraising which supports youth and civic programs, beginning in early december 2013, a significant portion of mobile amusement industry paid Premium Processing fees for handling of their h2b petition. Apparently there is a long delay to getting approval of these and setting back a bunch of businesses across america. Because im running out of time here, if i could have my staff follow up with you to see if we cant determine why that delay is happening and expedite that matter so we can get folks hired here who we do want to come legally. Newsmakers today at 6 p. M. Eastern on cspan. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] weeks q a she was so beautiful and so smart and so witty, she was always irresistible to men. Her 80thld age, birthday party, richard , a washington columnist, was at this party. At one point, she began to stroke his beard. Afterwards, heavens, ive never met an 80yearold that i wanted to leap into bed with. Seductive quality her entire life. Persianng about their personal relationship. On cspans q a. An ad hoc meeting of the congressional progressive caucus was held tuesday on the issue of unaccompanied imMigrant Children arriving at the usmexico border. Honduras, whofrom described their experience in Central America, their treatment in facilities, and their hope for a better life in the United States. Also testifying, representatives of organizations involved in the safety and care of refugees. This is about one hour and 20 minutes. Thank you very much for being here today. This is an ad hoc hearing from the progressive congressional caucus. Before i introduce the conveners of this ad hoc hearing, it comes at a very important time. We are waiting for leader polos he to make a statement. Leader polos he leader nancy pelosi to make a statement. Mr. Ellison, judy, one of the originators of the idea to have an ad hoc hearing. Ms. Clark will be with us. Those were the people that signed the letter to put this together and invited other members. We have other members here as well today. They will have an opportunity to introduce themselves. Today, given everything that is going on with the refugee issue with the children in this country, what congress is going through to put together a package. We just heard about the latest example from our republican colleagues as to what their packages in the house. We felt it is important not to do with the subject in a detached way. The congress and washington dc get a direct look and a profound listening of the young people that are with us today and their families. Also, from a panel of experts on addressing this humanitarian crisis. That will be the second panel. Todays hearing is about listening to the young people. I think we are missing as a congress the point of this issue. We are talking about children. We are talking primarily about their fleeing violence and for their own safety and lives. We are missing the point that as a nation we are the embodiment of those values of that protect the weaker. The values that protect the people fleeing persecution and prosecution unjustly. Today, we are going to hear from those young people that did just that. When people come up with laws and try to do with the supplemental package, we hope they do that in the context of human beings and children. Regrettably, these migrant kids that are coming to this country are being blamed for everything right now dealing with the border, dealing with Immigration Reform and why we do not have it. They are to blame for the reason we need to get rid of it. They are to blame for having more troops on the border. They are blamed for every disease on the face of the earth. They are to blame for the division that is been racking this nation for two decades regarding the issue of immigration. I think that is a lot to put on their little shoulders. It is time the congress assumed the responsibility for this impasse we have an Immigration Reform. Assume the responsibility that these laws are in place to protect people. Quit demonizing and blaming children when sometimes it is important for all of us to look ourselves in the mirror and come to the conclusion that we are not doing our part as a congress. With that, let me welcomed the young people and turn it over to ms. Chu. She was instrumental she said we needed to have a hearing of this kind where we have real people talk about this issue. That me turn it over to her for any opening comments. Ms. Chu. Thank you, mr. Chair. I will never forget going to the texas border station two weeks ago and seeing all the children in the detention cells sleeping on the cold, hard floor. That is what drove me to suggest this hearing. I want to thank you for arranging for this congressional progressive caucus to sponsor this. It is so important to hear firsthand from the children who are testifying here today. They are here about why they drove their homes and why they are seeking protection in our country. It is up to us to find a responsible and moral solution to address this two minutes. Crisis and do what is best for each and every child coming to our border. Our First Priority needs to be protecting those with legitimate claims of persecution and preserving the protection our current laws provide. Today, we remember that we are dealing with real people, young people who have witnessed unimaginable violence and tragedy. We cannot cover our ears. It is time to put politics aside and put these kids first. The answer cannot be legislative existing protections and risk putting them back into deadly violence. We need an Effective Response that put their interests first and we need it now. I want to thank our very brave witnesses to up come forward to share their personal stories today. Thank you very much, representative chu. I want to acknowledge the members that are here today. Barbara lee is with us. Coming in that direction, mr. Orourke. Ms. Newton. Ms. Jackson lee. Mr. Lowenthal. Mr. Conyers and these individuals have taken time and are here with us today. We are very appreciative. We will go by as people arrive, we will turn to them for them if they have any questions for the witnesses or reaction to the testimony. With that, let me welcome you. Welcome these three fine, brave, courageous young people that are here with us today. Let me begin with dulce. She is 15 years old and from guatemala. She lives with her younger sisters, her mom, and stepdad. She groped without her parents. Her father died when she was two years old and her mother traveled to the United States when she was young because she cannot support her two daughters as a single mom in guatemala. She was almost sexually abused by a man working on her uncles house. When she was told what happened, she immediately left the u. S. To bring her daughters the safety. Dulce also witnessed attempted murder of a woman who sold food door to door in her street. She was shot by a man right outside of her home. She saw the woman was badly hurt and fled into her house so she could not also be harmed. She is now a permanent resident of the United States because of the Family Court Judge in new york who declared it was not in her best interest to be sent to guatemala and she could not be reunified with her father under new york state law. Dulce is here to join us today. That me turn it over to her and her representative to begin discussion. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] dulce, if you would start please. You need to push can you push the button . Yeah. Hello. My name is dulce. I am 15 years old and i am from guatemala. I am in the 10th grade in long island, new york. I live with my mom, stepdad, and two Little Sisters who are five and 10 years old. I have had a green card since november of last year because a judge in new york said i was a special immigrant. I am grateful for the chance to speak to you today to tell you my story. I hope my story can make you see why it is so important to help protect the many children who are running away from home like i did in their home countries of Central America. In 2009 when i was 10, i fled guatemala with my sister to get away from the person who tried to harm me. It was difficult living there because i grew up without my mother who left when i was five years old to give us a better life. My father died when i was just two years old. My mom could not support us by herself. I grew up in guatemala with my aunts and uncles. It was difficult living there because there was lots of violence. I had to walk 30 minutes to get to school. On the way to school, i saw people fighting a lot. I saw gangs in school. I was scared to walk to school everyday. The worst thing that happened to me was before i came to United States. One day, my cousin and i woke up in the morning and started walking to school. One of my uncles was building a house. We had to cross through the construction site. When we were walking through the house, a worker asked us to come help him with something. When we got close to him, he forces inside the room and closed the door. We asked him what he wanted and he said nothing and try to take our clothes off. We were able to run away from them. I was in shock. We ran outside of the room that we were in and told our aunt and uncle what happened. They did not believe me. They asked the man would happen and the man told them that my cousin and i were lying. I was scared. I told my mom to tell her what happened and she became really upset and fainted because she decided after i told her this, she came to guatemala to protect me. And my mom was scared that i would be harmed and decided to quickly bring me to the United States. I thought about going to the police but it took me two hours just to walk to the station. Instead of helping me, my aunt and uncle punished us. They hit us with a belt and sent us to our room. I do not think the police would have helped me because they are very corrupt. The couple of months ago before i left, i saw a woman who sold food door to door in the neighborhood who got shot in the chest. I heard three gunshots and saw the blood from her wound. I ran inside of my house. I learned later that no one was arrested from the attempted murder of the woman. I do not want to go back to guatemala because im afraid there is no one to protect me. I am scared i will be attacked again from that man or someone else. I am afraid of gangs. When i arrived in the United States, my mom told me i was undocumented. I was scared i could be sent back and be separated from my mom and he put in a dangerous place again. When i received my green card, i was happy because i knew i would not be deported and then i can go to any college i wanted. I want to go to sunnybrook university to become a doctor because it is a good school. I want to be a pediatrician because i love kids and i want to take care of them. I would like to tell the government to give all the kids at the border an opportunity to stay here because violence, sexual assault, trafficking, kidnapping, and murder are the main reasons why children are trying to escape. If the government decided to send all the kids back to their home countries, they would be alone with nobody to support them and in a conflict zone every day. I ask you to put yourself in their shoes and ask how you would want to be treated. Would you want to be sent back to a place where someone tried to harm you . Thank you for listening. Thank you very much. Let me now ask a 12yearold from honduras. She wants to be a doctor or lawyer. She fled honduras with her little sister after witnessing homicides. Men tried to kidnap her and her sisters. Her extended family told her mom that they could no longer take care of her. She crossed the rio grande from mexico into the United States in july of 2013. The girls were in the attained freezing cells without any beds or blankets. She was very concerned about her Little Sisters health because she was shivering the whole time. It was so cold her lips went blue. She was given only two sandwiches per day. She is still angry about how she in her little sister were treated by the United States government. With that, let me turn to her to speak to us. [speaking spanish] good afternoon. I am 12 years old and i live in long island, new york, with my mother and younger sister. Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. [speaking spanish] when i was eight years old, my mother had to leave for the United States so we can have a better life. When she left, i cried every day for her because i missed her so much. [speaking spanish] one of the reasons why i left my country was because of the violence and also because my little sister suffered from an epileptic attack. [speaking spanish] i saw somebody kill another person twice and it was very ugly to see the blood running on the ground. [speaking spanish] i was scared that i would be killed like those men were killed. I would miss my mom a lot if i had to go back to my country. I would be very scared to be hurt by the violence if i had to go back. [speaking spanish] my trip to United States was a big adventure. The whole way here was well. The food was good and we were treated like people. I felt very good. [speaking spanish] when i suffered a lot was after we crossed the river and the police took us into freezing cold police stations. [speaking spanish] people could not sleep. We had to sleep on the floor and they only gave us a thin nylon blanket. There was not enough food. They only gave us two sandwiches a day. [speaking spanish] it was very cold in there and my Little Sisters lives even turned blue. We were shivering the whole time. It was very hard to sleep because the police were always calling our names. We were there for four very cold days. [speaking spanish] please help protect children like me and my little sister. We cannot go back to our country because they are very dangerous and very poor. For the first time, i am happy living here. My mom is not sad all the time and i love to go to school. I have the best grades in my class. Eventually, i want to be a doctor or a lawyer. [speaking spanish] i am happy to know that i can now stay in the United States. I hope the United States continues to help children like me who need a lot of help. [speaking spanish] i would also like to say that i wish, i hope these children are not returned to their countries because their mothers have to struggle a lot to be able to bring them here. Thank you very much for listening to me today. Thank you. We all appreciate it. Let me introduce a 15yearold from el salvador. He will start school in new york this september. He lives with his mother and four sisters. He recently crossed into the United States unaccompanied. He fled el salvador in april of 2013. He was a witness of a homicide that occurred right in front of his house. He heard gunshots and rushed to see what happened. A man he knew apparently was dying from a gunshot wound in the street. Three members of a game threatened to kill him if he ever rode his bicycle into their territory again. He was always worried the day would come that he would be forced to join one of the gangs. In el salvador, once someone is asked to join, the penalty for refusing to join his death. He suffered significantly in the custody of the u. S. Border patrol. He was detained in a holding cell without a blanket or enough food. He described his time there as the worst experience of his life. [speaking spanish] good afternoon. I am 15 years old and from el salvador. I live in new york with my mother and four sisters. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today. I want to tell you why i came here and also about the horrible experience that i suffered in immigration detention. [speaking spanish] i came to the United States because i was afraid of the violence in el salvador and i do not want to have to go back to face this. A few years ago, i saw a man die after being shot many times on my street. One day, i was sitting inside my house and i heard gunshots. I saw a man was wounded by bullets and i found an empty cartridge. There was a lot of blood. [speaking spanish] a year ago, i was threatened by gang members. I was riding my bicycle and that was three members of the gang who said if they saw me there again, they would kill me in all i was doing was delivering tamales. [speaking spanish] in my school, there are always gang members and everyone knew who they were. We were always afraid they would try to force us to join the gangs. My grandmother told me if i saw a lot of gang members together, i should try to avoid them because then i would be forced to join a gang. Everybody knows if you refuse to join a gang, they will kill you. [speaking spanish] my mother fled from allsop adore many years ago because of the violence. I do not know all the details but i know i do not want to go back to my country because i do not want to die and i am afraid of facing the violence. [speaking spanish] in the United States, i feel safer. I am with my mother and i dont have to be afraid of the gang members. I have a bicycle here and i dont have to worry about encountering gang members. [speaking spanish] i crossed the border from mexico into the United States of april of this year and was immediately caught while we were crossing the rio grande. I was caught by u. S. Immigration agents at about 1 00 in the morning. [speaking spanish] i walked 30 minutes to the immigration station where i was placed in a big room with 200 children. They were aged 10 and up. The room was very cold. There were not any beds. They gave us nylon which barely even kept us warm and they gave us a cold sandwich twice a day. I was very hungry because it was not enough food. [speaking spanish] when some of the children did not behave well, the officials punish them. They handcuffed the children outside of the room and the children outside were worse off because they could not use their body heat from keep from being so cold. [speaking spanish] after this room, i was taken to another big room with 200 people. It was very cold and i shivered a lot. And there was only one bathroom for 200 people and it was very ugly because all the children could see when i was going to the bathroom. We used the nylon to have a little more privacy. [speaking spanish] the whole time i was there children were crying. [speaking spanish] i felt very mistreated. My time in the ice boxes was the worst experience of my life. I hardly slept for six days. They did not allow us to sleep because they came in every two hours to count the children. [speaking spanish] i felt very weak after six days in the ice boxes. [speaking spanish] please do not mistreat children the way your government has mistreated me. [speaking spanish] finally, i want to ask you not to deport children like me because it is very possible you would deport them to violence and to their deaths. Thank you for listening to my testimony. Thanks to all of you. [speaking spanish] let me say it takes a lot of guts. All of us really respect what you said in front of all these people. We are grateful that you presented your personal stories so the rest of the country can put a face on the reality we are dealing with here. I want to thank you for that tremendous contribution in this whole debate about what we are doing next. I will introduce my colleague and cochair of the progressive caucus, mr. Ellison, so that he can make a comment and do the honor of introducing ms. Nancy pelosi. Thank you. I simply want to thank all of you. For coming here. It is very courageous, brave for you to tell your story. I know it is not easy. But, you are helping us as members of the congress get facts and information that will allow us to make good decisions about how to handle unaccompanied children who come to the border. I want to let you know that we are very proud of you. I know that you are going to be a doctor, a pediatrician, a lawyer, whatever you want to be, you can do it. With the guts and determination you have already showed, we are very sure your future is very bright. We take everything you said very seriously. And and understand you are here not just for yourself, but for all the other kids that you saw in the icebox. Thank you very much. I would like to turn the microphone over to Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi who has been so compassionate around this issue and many others. Thank you very much, my colleague. Cochair of the progressive caucus. I thank you for bringing us together today to pay our respects to these young people for their courage for sharing their experience. To them i say thank you. Thank you for being here, thank you for honoring us with your presence. I want you to know how important you are to us. This is quite a distinguished array of members of congress who are here representing the progressive caucus, but also the hispanic caucus, the black caucus. The leaders of the congress on the subject of immigration and all supporters of comprehensive Immigration Reform. The argument that some make that because of what is happening on the border we should not pass comprehensive Immigration Reform is upside down. Because of what is happening on the border, we should more quickly passed Immigration Reform. The campaign have a heart, let us follow that message. The people who talk about the baby jesus this gaping violence as an infant. Sending children back into the circumstances. He described it as turning children back into a burning building. Is about having a soul. To soul of the country is respecting the dignity of every person. In the country is about giving every person access rights you are in our country. I was just telling the congressmen about a mutual friend who said we cannot have deportation without representation. Of want to thank the groups were here who advocate for proper representation. Unfortunately, the bill that has come to us which we may be acting on does not have adequate resources for representation, especially of the children who needed even more. They do not have sufficient judges to deal with the immigration cases before them. Knowing that putting the spotlight on this challenge, your firsthand experience is very valuable and important to us. Raul describe the situation that was terrible. I saw it myself. I know congresswoman, the leader of immigration, complained about what we saw. I think already we have seen some improvement in the situation. But, we need to do so very much more. We do appeal to our country and colleagues to have a heart when it comes to people coming into our country. Some seeking amnesty and asylum to escape violence in Central America or wherever they come from. Again, we do not yet have on the floor the proper opportunity to address those concerns. Your testimony today takes us closer to a place where we can have a heart and recognize the soul of our country. That is about respecting the dignity and rights of every single person. Thank you. Thank you, dulce. Thank you, mayela. Thank you for being here with us today. Thank you to those organizations whose advocacy is so important for helping us have a heart and honoring our soul. I yield back. Thank you, madam leader. Very important that you joined us. We thank you very much. I want to open up the opportunity for members who have any questions for the young people or the representatives that are here. Some of the people that signed the invitation letter, let me begin with them. Turn to a comment or question to the representative. Do you have any comments or questions . I just want to thank our powerful witnesses for being here today. Last week, i went to a shelter for unaccompanied children from the border in my district. One of the things i do not understand is why was it so cold . Why was it so cold . It does not need to be so cold. I was told that one of the guards said to a child this is where you wanted to come. In other words, maybe you made a mistake making this trip. I hope by now i have heard by now that the situation is better. There is real blankets for the children. I apologize to you for the conditions that you met. I heard from other children as well that the worst part for them was when they got to the United States. The trip i think she said it was ok. Or you, dulce. But, once you got here. I also talked to a girl even younger than mayela who told me that when she was seven years old she was in the house with her brother who is now 13 and some gang members came inside. They asked for rent. Security money and they could not pay it. Every adult was shot and killed in the house. She finally made it to the United States where her father is. We hope she will be united. And of you should have to go back. None of you, now that you are here, should be treated with anything other than great respect. Today, with great gratitude, for your coming here and telling us your story. Thank you very much. Thank you. Why was it so cold . Another member that helped convene this hearing let me ask in this order. Ms. Barbara lee, representative lee. Comment or question . Ms. Lee . Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Ellison, leader pelosi. I want to just associate myself with all of the remarks that have been made and say to you that first of all, we appreciate your being here and seeing the United States of america as a refuge from fleeing such terrible conditions. Secondly, listening to your testimony, i felt ashamed. I ask my colleagues are you talking about america . Where you fled and treated as you were. I too want to just say to you that this country is a country that stands for liberty and justice for all. As our statue of liberty says, give me your tired, your poor, your old masses yearning to be free. Your pal for words and presence and testimony today really have reminded us of what we stand for and who we are as a country. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues here and to find a way forward so that you and all of the children will feel safe and secure and reunited with your families. Just know that we as americans once again appreciate your voices and communicating with us the tragic realities of what is taking place in your country. Thank you, again. Thank you. Any comments or questions to the children . I would like to associate myself with the comments my colleagues have already made. I certainly want to thank my colleagues, congressman ellison, for their leadership on this issue. And to thank the children that are here. And took a lot of courage to come to this country and it is taking a lot of courage to be here today to tell your personal stories. I want to thank you for that. I think your stories and what you have described as the what happened to you when you got here is exactly why it is absolutely critical that our Republican Leadership accepts the president s request for clean supplemental bill that would provide the resources that our Law Enforcement needs for Border Patrol to help prevent the worsening of your experiences. They are telling us they are going to run out of money very soon. As you mentioned, you did not have enough food. There were not enough blankets. We will be taking steps towards. One of the proposals made, you will hear, what about treating all children the same. We want to treat them in a way that protect them. My republican colleagues are saying you are treating them the same by taking away the right to due process the Central American children have today. I think its important we recognize the tremendous courage and violence i which people are fleeing. This is a test of our american values. This is a test to the world as to whether we are going to live up to our values and the children who are suffering and send a message to the world that we live by the values we espouse to others. Thank you. When colleagues arrived, they handed me a list. Dont be mad at me. I want to offer the opportunity for the members who tried to be here. We have another panel after this. We can hold questions and comments until after this and allow young people to be excused. In order of sequence, if you have any comments or questions . I do. Thank you very much for hosting this. Leader pelosi, thanks for your presence. I want to thank the three of you for having the courage to come here and give us your testimony. I have a couple of granddaughters. One is 11. The other is 10. You really remind me of one of my granddaughters. When you were crying my heart was raking. I wanted to hug you. I cannot imagine my own granddaughters being alone and cold without enough food or blankets. I cannot even imagine that an area. I am also sorry for the condition you found yourself in. I wish you the best. I was going to dress my question to you. In august i am going to be traveling to guatemala. I am planning on speaking about the problem we are having. I am sure we are going to meet with other children who have either gone through what you have gone through or are contemplating doing what you have done. What advice would you give to other young people in guatemala who are feeling fearful and unsure of their situation . You can tell us how can we make this better. How can we make our system better for those children who feel their only hope is to come to the United States . I am a little nervous. I am, too. My advice is one i came to the united dates everything was all right with me. What it eyes would you give to some of your friends that are still in guatemala . I do have friends. My advice would be i am really happy i am getting a good education, more advanced than i used to get. I am pretty sure if they have a strong reason to come to this country because of violence i have done the research and they are actually helping me. I really do have words to describe what advice i would give them. How could you make it better . [speaking spanish] gracias. I would like to tell people in my country not to give up, that there is a Better Future here and you will continue studying and not have the same kind of problems we have. Gracias. Before we call the next panelist of, another person has arrived, if there are any comments or questions you might have leave. I want to thank our cochairs. First you have to say is welcome to the United States. It does seem to me that is the first thing that should he said. I hope the children see that the leader of the party along with members of congress, that would you experience that the border is not typical of the people of the United States. Your testimony has an compelling, but it has been shocking. I believe we should call for an investigation of what happened. What we saw was people grieving children at the border. These are the first children we have an opportunity of hearing from. We have no testimony. Did you speak english when you came to this country . How long have you been in this country . Five years. Do you hear this virtually perfect english . I hope those who have not supported Immigration Reform can hear what this young immigrant has learned in that short time and will understand just how important it is to have young people like you in our country and how much you are bound to contribute to our country. Ours is one of the districts that have children from Central America. My District Of Columbia is one of them. Many of them are from el salvador. There are almost 200 children in my district right now from the countries of the children who have open here. I would like to ask the children who came whether they were given us is in by lawyers or others when asked questions about how they got here. And by those who make decisions on whether or not take should stay here. Who helped you . Is this someone who wants to be . The question is whether they have given legal assistance. They have to answer questions. They are now in this question. I take it they can stay here. [speaking spanish] nobody helped me to know what to say. It was just me and my sister. I was the only one who knew what to say to the police because i am the older of the two. [speaking spanish] nobody helped me. They just asked me a lot of questions. A lot of what you would expect. My name, what country i came from. They just collected my information and took my fingerprints. These were bright and savvy children that were able to respond. I think even adults would have a difficult time responding. I have written a letter to the district of Columbia Bar Association asking for pro bono lawyers to be of assistance not only in the District Of Columbia to the almost 200 children already here but to go to the border. I just think after the treatment that was received, and i know there were nonprofit at the border, it does seem to me all the help we can get. There will be those that can make their way to the border. I invite annexed panel. If you have any comments you might have. Math the children, let me thank you and thank our leader for their spirit. I hope my fellow members will place it on their lapel. I am going to move it close to my heart. We are here because we have a heart. We want our republican friends to listen to the stories you have just given. I want to emphasize there is no reason to change the law. This is a law that gives you rights. I believe after we hear your stories we deserve those right. You went to a court. Did you have a lawyer . That was your lawyer . Two children have a lawyer. Could that lawyer explain . Did that make you feel better . It made me feel secure. The judge was able to ask what you have been through . Yes. Were asking for some child to have a lawyer to express what your rights are. You want to be a doctor. Do you think you have an a good girl . And your sister has been a good girl . Yes. I might question and understand this though we have this bill we have is to understand it. I want to thank my colleagues for this hearing. It is imperative this not be changed. When we have lawyers they can know their rights and the court can be made better. I hope we can get to a good bill and the passage of a full supplemental. Thank you very much. I cannot put into words the admiration all of us have for you and the motivation you provide for this congress to do the right thing for kids and in this instance. [speaking spanish] thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you. She is pretty impressive. To my colleagues i am going to go down the roads of those who have not had an opportunity to ask a question or speak. As soon as this part of transition is done. Is he done . Why we are transferring over, then it panel could have a seat. I want to take time to thank them for their work in putting this together. From our office and the communication folks and their work. Its a job well done. Thank you very much. There it is. Let me welcome the second panel and thank you very much. There are Many Organizations that have been helpful in the cause of making sure we provide what these children deserve. Three of those are here with us. Let me begin with jessica jones. Let me turn it over to you. Thank you to the members of the congressional congress. I would also like to thank them for their long history introducing legislation. With a history serving migrants, they have 30 years of experience helping to reset the children. We have been working with a National Network of partners to address needs of these children and youth. These recognize thereve on our abilities. We focus on prohibitions and we focus on prohibitions and bipartisan legislation, the reauthorization act of 2008. I will focus on key areas of service they provide to the kids. They fell upon these protections and created the definition of unaccompanied alien child. Despite the important provisions, the framework remained incomplete until the uacpa by senator feinstein and later by representative wu. It is important to highlight it as many provisions eventually made it in. While some key provisions were left out. Most notably provisions for an appointment of a guardian and attorney at no expense of the government never made it in. Nevertheless, congresss intent could not be clearer. A recognize many Migrant Children who are afraid to come forward or may not understand they are victimized and need retentive services. Children are often unaware of the abuse. The intent was to better identify child trafficking survivors and prevent their future trafficking. They accomplish this by putting the onus on the u. S. Government to ensure children are screened for potential trafficking. It also reassured the commitment to the child for all children in the u. S. These are ensuring the legal obligation to not return or expel a person where their life or freedom was threatened, restrict during the time in Border Control custody. Custody that is in the child rest interest and ensuring safe release, providing Repatriation Services and access to Legal Organization programs. With regards to cut the in the childs best interest, they required the following. All potential sponsors must have verification. Currently they conduct fingerprinting of all nonparent sponsors. For Vulnerable Children, safe release requires homestudy and followup services. It also permits but does not require postrelease services. Services have proven invaluable to identifying child abuse and trafficking. These have been critical in orienting and conducting them to the Community Support systems. Children have higher risk of appearance in court and integrate better. Finally, it is the position that in that of amending to prevent the reception and protection of children seeking refuge we urge congress to focus on filling the protection gaps. If they are addressed the Current Situation will be alleviated. I will and my testimony here. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Welcome. Think you. Good afternoon. I would like to begin by banking the members of congress for coming together during this time of uncertainty. The center for Legal Services has been serving honorable populations of refugees and victims of torture since 1986. It is at these times we get to figure out what it represents to all the people around the world. I am honored to have and given the time to share with you what we have learned in the past few months. Our mission is to protect refugees. We assist unaccompanied children to better understand rights and responsibilities in the process. June 9, 2014, we have been providing confidential legal screenings to 1200 unaccompanied children in custody at the air force the in san antonio, texas. We have peerreviewed the intake of children so far, and our assessment is 63 are likely to be found eligible for release by an immigration judge. The cases our staff have accepted for representation using this screening process ultimately have a success rate of over 58 . The determinations are supported by hundreds of adjudication. The children we serve are fleeing unspeakable violence. The vast majority are from honduras, el salvador, and guatemala. Many of these are victims of sexual assault, trafficking, domestic abuse, and torture. Staff and volunteers have met with girls as young as 12 years old who fled criminal gangs attempting to force them into sexual exploitation. This can be described as a war on children were boys target boys and girls as young as eight or nine and forcing them to participate in normalized activity that is rampant and widespread. The children and families who have faced this have made a conscious decision to seek refuge in the United States because they fear their lives are at stake. I would like to share the story of a young man i met. I will not use his name. He left honduras four months ago with his sister. Five years ago their father was murdered. Their mother remarried with a man who was involved with criminal violence that has taken over honduras. From a young age the stepfather began to recruit and prepare the young boy to be part of the criminal network he served. Because the young boy failed to follow instructions of his stepfather he beat him so badly he broke his arm. He resigned himself he would be part of this criminal network because he could no longer do any other work that his crooked arm. As he grew older and as his young sister grew older she began to be recruited. To be exploited sexually by the criminal network. This was when the boy could take no more. Without telling his mother or stepfather they left. They joined a group of children traveling alone on top of a train they call the beast because children are mangled. They had to pay bribes to mexican policeman to be allowed to go further. On one occasion the children did not have enough money, so the police turn them over. They began to extort money. They did not have that family. They let him go. He spent eight days. We have heard reporting of as many as 12 before he got to a facility where he was able to begin the process of picking about the area he suffered. He waits every day thinking his sister is going to show up. We know she wont. How we respond to the humanitarian crisis in which children are in need of reduction speaks to the character of our nation. The decisions we have have the power to bolster are human rights activity. By providing Legal Services to unaccompanied children for two decades. I could not be more proud of the difficult and often thankless work my staff has performed. We know the opportunity to be represented and seek fair consultation could well be the difference between life and death. We urge you to prioritize the protection of these children and ensure they receive to process. Thank you. Let me ask megan mckenna, the communications director. Thank you, congressman, and other members of the caucus. My organization has matched unaccompanied children with pro bono attorneys since 2009. We have hardearned with law firms, corporations, and law schools, which agreed to represent the children referred to as. We have trained pro bono attorneys and have referred over 6300 children and we opened our doors. Kind is greatly concerned about the treatment of these uniquely Vulnerable Children who are coming to the u. S. In record numbers to seek protection in their home countries of which they are as pacific targets. Many of these children are fleeing forced recruitment by gangs, which are supported by criminal cartels. Refusal to join the ranks results in terrifying threat, while in, and even that. The situation is similar to child fulchers all over the world. The Refugee Agency found it he ate percent of unaccompanied children coming to the u. S. Are potentially eligible for u. S. Protection. They could be refugees. The united dates wishes to gratify the protocol and has incorporated a number of provisions into u. S. Law congress showed intention to follow obligations. The united date has an obligation to insure those coming to our borders to seek asylum have a full chance to make the claims. Our obligations could not be clearer. We must ensure these children cases are heard by an immigration judge and that children are given adequate time to find counsel and present their case. Many of these are traumatized and need time to recover and share difficult experiences. We recognize not all of these children will be able to stay in the United States but without a fair process there is no question we will be sending children to harm. To turn them away without due process would send a disastrous message to the rest of the world regarding our obligation. How can we demand countries neighboring syria take in refugees but turn our backs on our own neighbors. Current laws are designed to make these determinations for unaccompanied children. The reauthorization act which recognizes the unique vulnerabilities of these children includes necessary flexibility to address this without undermining vital protections for unaccompanied children the law provides. It insures their appropriate care in the interim. Amending to allow Border Protection to screen all children in the flawed way they currently screen children from mexico soon after their arrival violates to process and fundamental fairness. Imagine being an 11yearold arriving at the border, traumatized, confused, and unable to speak english and having to explain to a Government Official within days why you are afraid to go home, or a young girl who has been date raped having to explain. The response is multifaceted but doable. The u. S. Must increase funding to the court system to ensure timely and adjudication of these childrens cases. The backlog predates this and is the result of years of underfunding. Another component could be departure programs. This would allow children to have their claims heard in their own country by u. S. Officials or be evacuated to as safe location for processing. A best interest determination or equivalent process could be established to identify those at reduced risk of persecution or for whom going to the United States would be the best outcome. Such programs were established with an increase in haitians. An orderly departure process must reinforce protection and not undermine the right to seek asylum and other forms of protection within the United States. Children who reach our borders must fill the process and not sent back to their country. Solutions must include addressing the root causes and rebust reintegration services. In conclusion the u. S. Can address this historic migration in a way that ensures their protection while supporting a fair and orderly response that uphold moral obligations to the most vulnerable. Thank you for the opportunity to represent. I welcome questions. The senior associate. The floor is yours. Good afternoon, representatives. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. I coordinate a program. We have worked to promote comprehensive reforms to address root causes of violence and ensure effective and accountable police and judicial system. It is important to understand the violence these children will face again if they are sent back. Two factors stand out. Violence in their Home Communities and lack of opportunities. They are not just coming to the United States. According to figures, mexico, panama, nicaragua, and belize saw an increase in the number of request from individuals from el salvador, honduras, and guatemala. These are among the most violent countries. Honduras ranks first globally with the homicide rate of 90 per 100 inhabitants. El salvador is fourth and guatemala is fit with the rank of 40. Youth are disproportionately affected. In honduras data revealed that between january and june, 409 children were murdered. So far the murder rate of children under 17 has increased i77 from a year ago. Women and girls are increasingly victims of violence. In honduras murders of women have increased 216 . The number of unaccompanied girls under 18 intercepted at the border rose by 77 this fiscal year. Drug trafficking is part of the problem. It is linked to some of the violence. While the drug trade is a fact or, cartels are more interested in the king a low profile seeking a low profile. The violence in Central America is i merrily Community Level including Domestic Violence and child abuse. Street gangs impact every aspect of life and are responsible for a significant amount of the violence. They engage in kidnapping, human trafficking, and extortion of local businesses. Gangs sometimes have join or die recruitment. Victims of extortion, sexual abuse, and Death Threats frequently find no protection from the authorities. Many fear the police as much as the criminals. Rule of law is weak and corrupted. Majority of Police Forces are sometimes complicit in criminal activity. Compounding the problems is lack of opportunity, particularly for young people. There is no easy solution. These are profoundly difficult problems that will require short and longterm responses. We must recognize unless the fact ors that drove these children to flee are addressed, many of them are likely to return to the United States. More funding for Border Security will not solve the problem. Children are turning themselves in. There is urgent need to protect the children fleeing violence. Congress should not leave town without addressing the immediate need and ensuring cases are evaluated individually. Children should not be deported back to situations that threaten their lives and safety. Immediate support is necessary to reintegrate children, teenagers, and families. Congress should begin to face the longterm problem. They should address Widespread Community violence and poverty endemic to these countries. The problem is not complete a question of resources. Evidence suggests continuing invest it in initiatives that involve local community groups, churches, police, can make a real difference in reducing youth violence. These need to be paired with programs to help those build effective Police Forces. Today u. S. Assist and has placed too much emphasis on equipment, infrastructure, and training that barely touched the surface of the problem. Compatibility must be a component of strategy. Greater invest and is needed to support job Training Programs focused on urban youth. This includes funding to protect children and families and invest in Civil Society organizations that can hold groups accountable. This is the direction u. S. Wallace he should move toward in the future. There are no quick fixes for addressing these issues. The United States and Central American government have an opportunity to act precisely. I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. I have a quick question. What are the rationales of the sponsor for changing the law . Basically beginning the process of dismantling this protection . Its an interesting argument. The rationale he seems to think is a fairness issue why we need to change the law and eliminate Central America from the protection of the law, saying we need to treat them just like mexicans. I find it ironic. I find that so confusing. In the spirit of equity, lets treat everyone badly. There is a presumption the laws are being followed. It is impossible based on the numbers of exit in children presenting themselves at the border and the few numbers making it to facilities provide services that those laws are being followed. To presume it is being followed is the first error. Our responsibilities toward children are greater than just rounding them up and shipping them home to be persecuted. I want to turn to mr. Orourke if you dont mind. Its a loaded question i realized. A loaded response would be fine. This is an issue of child detection. That is first and foremost what we should be looking at. We need to go back to the basics. Its really very simple. I would add that if we do change the system and have Central American kids treated the same way as other countries, you will be seeing kids setback who have a legitimate trafficking claims. You do not want to see that. I would like to add to what my colleagues have said in terms of what are we bringing these kids back to, given the levels of violence and poverty . Thats my own confusion. I dont feel i have the intuitive powers some of my other colleagues who are promoting the idea of getting rid of the law, they intuitively know all of them are going to be fine. I dont have those intuitive powers. I think for members of congress to bear some sort of responsibility because they changed the law, that is a piece of responsibility i dont want and i hope many of the members dont want. Do you have any questions or comments . Thank you for letting me sit in. Thank you for your testimony. The only thing i can find is it is too rational. Your hair is not on fire. Its hard to get people to listen to these things that make so much common sense to us. The only thing i argue to the chair and everyone, i would argue we should not use the word crisis. I think it allows evil to accept extreme measures to respond. Maybe you live in middle america. You hear humanitarian crisis and someone wants to send the national guard. It seems to make sense. I think we have this covered. I think we have the resources. People apprehended our border last year. Even with these kids from Central America, this year we wont hit half a million. This year we definitely have the capacity. Every kid should have an attorney. We should treat everyone he will, which means we should have the same superior standard applied to mexican children as we are supposed to do with kids from Central America and elsewhere. I am interested in this orderly departure process. I think it makes sense. If you accept the arguments people are putting forth with the humane act, they say they are doing it or they can dissuade these kids and families from making a dangerous journey north. I think if we addressed that with some sort of refugee screening process and do it honestly and learn from our mistakes, there is something powerful to that. I dont know if i have any questions. I would like to take what you said and put it into law. I think we are perfectly capable of doing this. Someone has shown if we were to provide every child with an attorney we would more than make up for the costs. We found the vast majority of these kids when they have an attorney actually show up. This would be my question. How you recommend to a degree you are talking to the choir. How we make a compelling argument to our colleagues what you are doing it the right thing to do. This about the ship that was turned back with 1000 jews, a quarter of which perished in the holocaust. There was a bill that failed in committee. There is not a member of congress who would not have voted for that. I feel we are going to be judged or a similarly. Any thoughts about how we talk about this in a way that is compelling to more than just those who live on the border or who get it . Maybe i am a lawyer nerd, but i take ray pride in the fact that the law i practice is what has been left behind by what we called the greatest generation. We went to world war ii not just to protect our borders but to preserve our principles. Chief among them that we dont stand idly by and allow people to be the victims of torture. I think that happen when the nation was more freshly aware of genocide. That goes to our identity as a nation and the thing that makes us most proud of being americans. I just hope as we consider changing our law, changing our law to make it less protective of human rights in order to reduce due process. I cannot think of another if temple example where we decided to change our are just to exclude a group of Vulnerable Children from accessing justice we held so dear. It is very much worth it. I want to thank you for the work your organization is doing as well as your important testimony. I wonder if you can answer the question. Why was it so cold . Cold has been used as torture in the past. It makes no sense that they would it seems deliberately be held in really uncomfortable situations. Is it improved . All the kids i talked to at the shelter mention the cold. We use the same mentality in our prison system them. It is a way of sub doing. It was a deliberate strategy . Yes, it is deliberate. We have been hearing they are looking at these policies about keeping the holding cell that cold. They are still that cold . They have been that cold for over five years or decades. It is a useful tactic. The reason i have heard is a do it to prevent the spread of disease. It is to spread this idea these people are disease spreading. It is almost treating them like cattle. Is there any science to keeping it at 72 or 74 . No home i have been in has been that cold. The trip was pretty comfortable. How are these children coming . It seems that it varies significantly. If you can describe the options. There are a whole host of ways they come. Sometimes they come without adults. It is a foot, train, bus. Some of them are lucky in that they have event free journeys. More often they are abused or someone in the group, particularly if you are a girl. The vast majority of girls are assaulted. The majority . Yes, over 50 of the girls, yet more girls are coming than ever before. That underscores how desperate they are to come to the United States. Do any of them come with a protective adult . Some do. Some come with grandparents or extended family members, cousins, older siblings. Under our current law, those children or adult caregivers would be separated because they are not parents and because in the past, traffickers have you statements saying they are the uncle or the sister or brother. They tried to traffic the children into the sex trafficking. The policy is to separate extended family members had order patrol. . That makes them qualify because they do not have a parent or legal guardian available. When peoplertant discuss smugglers and the money paid this is that. That the child is expected to work off upon arrival will stop many of these children, if they are not traffic yet, they are rocking and rolling on the road to be traffic here in the United States where they are vulnerable and the smugglers they paid you may have their families back home at the but of a gun. Any questions or comments . I understand the supplemental being proposed by the republicans in the house is around 900 million. Two thirds of the money is dedicated to Border Security. The other portion to services to children. I understand its not free and clear money and we have two and what places we are cutting is state department programs. That makes no sense to me. Could you comment on that . Ive heard some reports and a lot of americans have searched for sources or causes in the articles. The journals have not written a lot about it and that is part of the problem americans are reluctant to call them refugees because they do not see a war. Its a less visible violence. Have a lot of information about any connections of these gangs. What is the relation between the violent criminals back to these countries and those that dont seem to be able to absorb them . Before there is a response, we have to turn this over. If there is anyone response, i would appreciate it all stop its very important to recognize that unless we address the original factors that have driven children to flee their communities and their homes off they are likely to attempt to return again. In any supplemental letters cleare there are examples of things that work to reduce violence. Theres a number of programs that have been effective at reducing violence. Salvador inf san 2003, the mayor at the time implemented a Robust Program that brought together different sectors and reduce the homicide level by 42 . We have very clear examples that have origins and its important to address root causes of the violence. Ofn we look at the nature Central American gangs, one thing important to take into account is the deportation policies of the u. S. Particularly from the northern triangle, those who joined gangs in california brought the culture back to their home countries. These are individuals and kids who did not speak the language or have any family. Given their lack of opportunity they were deported . Fax many of them grew up in the u. S. Inc. Many americans understand this. I know when my constituents when they were searching around for information on the internet and said we cant find anything about this connection. Thank you. Im sensitive to the tremendous responsibility that we must be out of this room but i felt its very important that as you well know, the bill is going to put these children to the Border Patrol and straight to the court within seven days. Let me say the light that has been put on the board of patrol agents, the training is what they need and the facilities are what they need and i think we are going to make a difference and would you just say