Rep. Daniel Webster: Democrats’ bill does nothing to address the humanitarian crisis on our border – Washington Examiner

There is a humanitarian crisis at our border. A record number of individuals are crossing our border, overwhelming entry points and causing a massive backlog in processing and courtroom hearings. That includes 56,278 unaccompanied minors so far in fiscal 2019, up 74% year over year. As of early June, the Department of Health and Human Services had more than 13,200 minors in custody.

Yet, for months, Democrats have refused to acknowledge the crisis taking place along the border. In fact, on seventeen occasions, Democrats in the House have blocked motions to vote on H.R. 3056, offered by Republicans to provide $4.5 billion for the humanitarian crisis at our border. They refuse to even debate this commonsense proposal to provide much needed border aid, including:

• $3.3 billion for humanitarian assistance including shelter capacity for unaccompanied children, care for children in custody, transportation, and safe and efficient border processing centers.
• $1.1 billion for operational support including personnel, transportation, and resources to combat human smuggling and trafficking.
• $178 million for technology upgrades and law enforcement pay adjustments to respond to the influx of migrants.

This week, House Democrats also rejected a Republican budget proposal to redirect $75 million to hire 100 new judges and support staff to start addressing the crippling immigration court backlog which is exacerbating the current humanitarian crisis. There is currently a backlog of 900,000 cases that need adjudication, and the average wait is over 2 years. More judges would ensure that cases could be heard swiftly. Those with a valid claim could stay with lawful status and those without a valid claim would be immediately sent home instead of released into the U.S.

On social media, these same House Democrats claim to care about immigrants suffering at the border, yet when given the opportunity to support commonsense proposals to provide resources, they choose to play partisan politics instead. Instead of funding more judges or overtime pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers working around the clock, their proposal includes things like $2 million for a 1-800-number for migrants.

It ties the hands of officials at Department of Health and Human Services from changing policies to improve child welfare as it relates to the handling of unaccompanied alien children. It restricts Department of Homeland Security and HHS from being able to communicate with each other and share information regarding families detained and unaccompanied alien children.

Their bill also restricts the DHS from sending additional personnel to the border to help the overwhelmed officers and agents working overtime. It doesn’t provide funding for additional beds for individuals who have illegally crossed our border and are waiting for their immigration hearing. It does not provide funds to investigate human traffickers smuggling unrelated children across the border.

This proposal flies in the face of facts. We need additional human trafficking investigators and immigration judges now more than ever. Data and news reports reveal there is an increase of adults coming to the border with children fraudulently posing as families. It is devastating, but true that smugglers are preying on poverty-stricken villages in Central America with the offer of money in exchange for taking a child to the border.

This is an extremely perilous situation for these children who are at high risk of abuse at the hands of smugglers and their “fake” families. According to a recent Washington Post report, “…CBP agents had separated 170 families after determining the child and the adult traveling together were unrelated. In Guatemalan villages, community leaders fear more children will be exploited. ‘This is a crime. This is human trafficking….’”

The Democrats’ proposal is not a serious attempt to fix this humanitarian crisis, it’s an act of political lip-service regarding this very serious situation and these children in need of real help. Republicans have offered proposals to address this crisis that doesn’t include one of our priorities — border wall funding — because that is a poison pill to Democrats.

If Democrats will join us and cease playing politics with the crisis, I believe we can pass and send President Trump a clean, commonsense bill that provides the resources needed.

Daniel Webster represents Florida’s 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.