The administrations decision to support children with Critical Illness is a decision that was recently reversed following public outrage and pressure from the subcommittee that i will now recognize myself for five minutes to give an Opening Statement and then i will turn to the Ranking Member. We are here to get to the bottom of the administrations mysterious campaign to deport critically ill children and their families. It appears this policy has thankfully been reversed after congress and the American People rose up in an outcry with full inhumanity on display in this policy. Im going to treat this hearing is not only an honor in the memory of her late beloved chairman Elijah Cummings but as a hearing in direct pursuit of a policy objective that was close to his heart that threatened deportation of Sick Children was that such outreach chairman cummings that his last official act before his death was to issue subpoenas to hold the administration to account. On wednesday in the waning hours of his life through all his pain and difficulty chairman cummings recognized the indelible stain this policy would leave on her nation and he made holding that government accountable for his final official acts act. We now have a sacred altercation to follow through on the subpoenas to make sure we defend some of the most Vulnerable People on the planet, Sick Children who have, strangers to our land to seek medical assistance. To our Witnesses Today i want to be clear the subcommittee intends to follow through on chairman cummings promised to unearth the truth behind the policy and its desire to ensure that policy is truly reversed and that our government treats people in this category with the dignity they deserve not only do we owe that to our late love the chairman but we always Jonathan Sanchez serena and all of the immigrants whose health and lives were threatened by the policy implemented by uscis. Uscis must explain first what the current policy is on deferred action. He cannot keep the process shrouded in secrecy while these kids wait to hear their fate. If we could go to the slide on september 18 acting secretary of common security. Kevin lean in ordered the act and director mr. Tonelli who is with us today to quote ensure Effective Immediately uscis resumes its consideration of nonmilitary deferred action requests on the discretionary casebycase basis. Its unclear whether uscis is granted relief to anyone since reversing course. He further ordered uscis to quote ensure the procedure for considering and responding to deferred action requests is consistent throughout uscis and discretionary casebycase deferred action is granted only on telling circumstances. What exactly does this mean . Was the problem that uscis is trying to fix and what changes are being considered . Will any outside stakeholders be consulted . We want to have maximum transparency to ensure uscis is not imposing unreasonable requirements on immigrants who deserve our attention and their mercy. Uscis should explain what will happen to people with prior deferrals have expired while renewals are still under review. We heard from the family of a 12 year boy with a curable condition that could cause him to bleed to death if not treated properly. Both of his parents are waiting for months with no decision at all. His fathers deferral expired in august in his mothers expired in january. Neither parent would be able to stay or work in the United States threatening their abilities to support and care for their sick son so what does uscis recommend families like his due while the agency is trying to decide how to reinstate deferred action. How many more people are stuck in limbo and what will he do to protect them . We want basic answers to these questions and we come here not in any kind of gotcha. We does want to deal with the very serious problem that was brought to our committee. The ongoing confusion regarding deferred action reflect the same kind of chaos that apparently produced this policy in the first place and prompted our last hearing for which the administration i hope today will provide us answers. What little we been able to learn indicates it was undertaken in taste without any effort to ascertain what is health and lifethreatening effects would be on the people. After hearing and set number but her compelling stories of people who were directly harmed by the policy. Of 2001 and suffering from a rare disease testified that deportation would he quote a death sentence for me and she told us i want to live. Im a human being with hopes and dreams in my life. Jonathan sanchez a 16yearold suffering from Cystic Fibrosis which is a disease that affects people in my family. He told us upon learning he was facing deportation he broke down in tears pleading quote i do not want to die. I dont want to die. If i go back i will die. In his words quote its incredibly unfair to kick out sick kids who are in the hospital taking treatments and just trying to have better opportunities to live. Obvious from the testimony that uscis did not realize what the implications of the policy would be or if new and decided to go ahead anyway. Either reality would be but the effects on maria and jonathan would have been if uscis had sought feet back and instituting new policies. A single stakeholders before it jeopardizes the family. Making matters worse uscis did not issue any public announcement about the policy or provide any guidance to people in aria and jonathan situation or any of the critically ill children and their families about what would come next to what they should be doing. What was the reason for the secrecy and the surprise . Is it usciss in massive policy shifts without providing Public Notice . Threatening sick kids is another example of the mistreatment of immigrant children. Uscis in particular is engaged in the pattern of developing policies for endangered children. Uscis has eliminated automatic citizenship for some children of u. S. Soldiers stationed overseas and immigrant kids playing their home countries and rolled out a public role that is steered many poor parents and are moving their children from as an earl health and nutrition services. The central tenet of chairman cummings philosophy that children are the living messengers that we send forward to a future that we ourselves will never see. Last hearing the chairman cummings attended was September September 11. Pay treating children with dignity was so important to him he made a point to come down to baltimore despite his advanced ill health. At that hearing elijah said quote we are in a moral situation. People are struggling to live. They are trying to be better and trying to be healthy. Chairman cummings who himself was struggling trying to be healthy one of these children to have the same access to medical treatment that he did. We will honor the chairmans memory and the humanity of all those seeking deferred action by remaining vigilant and conducting rigorous oversight and make sure this Administration Treats Immigrants with the dignity they deserve. We welcome mr. Ken cuccinelli and must mr. Albence. We are delighted again today but we want to be sure theres no more further stonewalling on these answers. We want clarity and answers and we wont stop until we get them. We will now recognize the Ranking Member of our committee mr. Roy. Smith thank you mr. Ken cuccinelli thank you for coming up and visiting us with today. I will reiterate what i said in the hearing last week that our continued prayers are with the family of chairman cummings and with his staff. We had a great event last week and i was honored to participate in that and we will continue to move forward in this committee carrying forward the chairmans legacy with wanting to do what is right. I do want to say one thing as we head into this that will not surprise the chairman on this issue that currently there are two depositions going on and those depositions at least two are scheduled today in what is going on now. Another part of the capital its impossible for me to be in two places at once saw sitting with this subcommittee that want to commit to my responsibility to do that. Im unable to easily catch up with and i dont think thats right were to carry out things and apparently there will be a vote tomorrow on this process but i would suggest this is part of the problem. Anybody watching this is the problem with this current broken process. There are very few members here at least on my soda aisle and i would note i would say my prayers and wishes to mr. Hice to son passed away yesterday and hes not able to join today. I dont think its way a way we should be conducting those kinds of inquiries. Today we have a hearing titled the administrations decision to deport critically ill children and their families. I do not believe thats what the administration was seeking to do that i think we are talking about the process change the layout to get about. This is a topic that involves deferred action requests not seeking to stay. We have had the hearings before. Declaring different action is not a pro grandpa deferred action is the decision. The decision and its a judgment call for those with prosecutorial powers and we have to treat it that way and we ought to have a discussion about policy changes if they are a any to be had if for anybody is here who has overstayed a visa or sitting in any kind of situation that the chairman described. When dealing with policy change that would have taken uscis some of the role and has no real underlying authority to carry out a i understand the correct he and prosecutorial decisionmaking left to those without who have power. Uscis has announced it will evaluate pending claims object to internal internal policy change and settled the day before the hearing. Its my understanding none of that deferred action individuals have been targeted for deportation and letter sent to the committee september 19 the chairman notes its returning to deferred action process in place on august 6. For better or worse no one is being treated any differently than they were ahca six. What we have here is a question about how to have a right policy. He too never one of us has sympathy for anyone who is sick that we need a real solution. No one in the administration wanted anyone to not be treated unfairly but we have to deal with the real world. We have people here who will lose status and we have to figure out what to do with that. Begging for an intermittent twoyear deferral that are not rooted lawn seat deferred action for those who dont prosecute and leave them an additional limbo thats not a good policy. Thats the existing policy. If congress wanted to otherwise solve the problem they should act. If Congress Wants to solve Problems Congress should act. Congress has the power to make policy. This is about gotcha politics. I would remind my democratic colleagues this reality is at the root of the scotus decision in the current debate on the dock a class with respect to approving status for people who overstated their existing visas. We have deferred action which is by definition pressing tutorials status. We cant give a status to a group of people in the name of prosecutorial discretion. For perspective is hearing involves a situation that affects roughly 900 current people in the policy is currently at the status quo. Lets think about whats happening right now. Border patrol agents along the southern border encountered millions of people cited two equally into the country. They were talking about 900 its important for each of these 900 but that number 977,509. Their 1. 148 million enforcement actions. Putting in perspective numbers we are talking about 900 versus 851,000 and apprehension. We are not talking or hearing about the tune in 24 pounds of sentinel seen crossing our southern border this last fiscal year. One little packet of sentinel would kill everyone in this room. Where not having a hearing about the 700 inbound weapons intercepted upgraded from last year we are not tight enough effective sepia. 12 in a gang members from 20 different gangs. They are roughly 576,000 immigrant fugitives in the United States today 576,000. Over half a Million People have been even a final order of removal by the judge still wandered around in the United States. According to i. C. E. We said doubledigit drop in volume up or some resources they have had to deploy to the border. This is why we have interior enforcement. Our borders are porous and traffickers are taking advantage of migrants. Traffickers use children as props for asylum. There were four and 73,000 family units this year we can discuss the 5 thousand four and it recorded cases of fraud from lets families of children who are being exploited as a Golden Ticket to come United States but lets talk about those migrants getting abused today on the journey through mexico. We have 60,000 pensions in september. We are talking about the numbers being down. They were down 400,000 may yet thats the reality of whats happening on her order right now today. But we had having hearings on that. We are having a hearing on something that has no discernible difference from where was on august 6 i understand the concern of the chairman about some of the questions about the policy but we are talking about something that is largely just with the concerns the majority has and if we want to have a conversation we should sit around at a roundtable and lets talk about the other things we can do. Fixing asylum catch and release, cbp ra. These are things we could fix him on piece of paper in one day if we had the will to do. We could fund i. C. E. And Border Patrol properly. We could fund i. C. E. At that level that president obama as for to deal with the m. Accompanied children coming in 2014 to 2015 and yet we only got 200 billion for i. C. E. In june after demanding a supplemental and that 200 billion was constrained and not able to be used for this hearing is about an issue that affects 900 people from whom we have great sympathy and we have to address the issue but on average they thats three times less than the total number crossing during one Border Patrol shift. Think about that, one Border Patrol shift. Cbps apprehends nearly 40 migrants a day. On average in may that number was 5000. The chairman wants to discuss the fact that these deferral so not programs lets discuss that and figure out a system that will work and that we can Work Together to try to figure that out. Id love to do that in the context of our very broken immigration security. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for your very thoughtful remarks and is always i am here to work with you and all of our colleagues on comprehensive Immigration Reform but you correct lee delineate what the object of todays hearing is which is to focus on this question and we are going to do it and im hoping we will get the answers that we need and then we can move on to other stuff. There are several members of the committee who have come today both for their interest in the subject but also an attribute to chairman cummings so without objection i would wave them on. Mr. Rouda mr. Cooper and mr. Mr. Desaulnier are members of the broader committee including mr. Kelly and mr. Gomez whoever right over here and also thank you mr. Roy for telling us about mr. Hydes father. Our thoughts go out to him. It seems as we are going to too many funerals these days but we are sending them strength and encouragement through without i want to formally welcome our words as a vapor can kouchner as acting director of the u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security welcome mr. Ken cuccinelli and Matthew Albence acting director of the u. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the u. S. Department of Homeland Security. If the witnesses would kindly rise and raise their right hands i will swear you in to do you swear or affirm the testimony youre about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Let the record show the witnesses answered in the affirmative. You may be seated. Please speak directly into the muck or phones. Without objection in a written statement you brought with you or you decide to provide will be made part of the record and without mr. Cuccinelli you are recognized again oral recitation of your testimony. Good morning chairman raskin Ranking Member roy and distinguished members of the subcommittee that i want to express my condolences on the passing of chairman cummings and i appreciate his dedication representing people of maryland seventh district for 23 years but my name is Ken Cuccinelli on the acting director of United States citizenship and Immigration Services. Usda says ministers the lawful immigration system to the agencys mission is to save her the integrity of that system by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting americans securing the homeland and honoring our values. I can tell you im extremely proud of the work and professionalism i see everyday by the employees that you at uscis in service to america. In fiscal year 2019 uscis achieved many President Trump schools to make the immigration system worked either for america. We tirelessly worked handinhand with their fellow dhs components to enter President Trumps called to address the ongoing crisis in our southern border. We have taken steps to mitigate the loopholes in our sound system particularly absence of congressional action to combatin