Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAIN. First, I thank him for the resolution.

On behalf of myself and others, I appreciate the representation of the people of Texas who are literally experiencing a crisis on the southern border of our States--of the Senator's State as well as mine.

I note the presence of the Senator from Illinois. There is no greater advocate for the DREAMers, the children who were brought here, not willfully, and I believe that in our immigration reform bill we address that issue in a humane and compassionate fashion.

But I ask my colleague now: Isn't it terribly inhumane to see these children taken from these countries by some of the most unspeakable people on Earth--these coyotes? And their trip along the way these hundreds of miles is so cruel and inhumane to many of these children that it is chilling. These coyotes are terrible people. They commit crimes to these people and on these young children. They do terrible things. They sometimes ride on the top of a train where the safety is--obviously, their lives are literally in jeopardy.

Again, I appreciate the work that has been done on behalf of the DREAMers. But shouldn't we care a great deal about these children, even if they are not in the United States, for what they are undergoing now? And isn't it a humanitarian issue of the highest order, and wouldn't we be better served if we told these children and the people who are motivating them and making a lot of money bringing them here--wouldn't it be better for us to say: Look, anybody who shows up at our border is not going to be allowed to stay in this country. But if you go to our consulate, if you go to our embassy in the country in which you reside and make a case that your life is being threatened, you are being persecuted--whatever the conditions are for asylum in our country--then those cases can be judged, and then if it is a humanitarian case that warrants it, we can bring them into the United States of America.

But say: If you come to our border, you cross those--how many miles is it from the Guatemalan border?

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Mr. McCAIN. Don't subject yourself to a 1,200-mile trip, which is hazardous to your life and terrible things can happen to you.

Why don't we send a message: If you think you deserve asylum, then go to the consulate, go to the embassy, and we will have sufficient personnel there to take up your case. And if your case is compelling and meets our standards for asylum, then we are going to give it to you. But whatever you do, don't risk your life and your well-being to travel 1,200 miles in the hands of a coyote.

I would say to the Senator from Texas, sometimes when we say we have to have a secure border and the things we need to do, we are viewed sometimes as inhumane.

My question is: What is more inhumane than what is happening to these children now? Some of them are only 4, 5, 6 years old. What is more inhumane than what is happening to them as we speak?

Shouldn't the President of the United States do as the Secretary of Homeland Security did yesterday and say: You cannot stay in our country even if you show up on the border, but you can apply for humanitarian asylum in the United States of America?

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Mr. McCAIN. The only way we are going to stop this right now is to convince these people not to listen to the coyotes who are advertising on regular television in these countries and to convince these people that trip will not lead to the result of being able to stay in the United States of America. Until that happens, they are going to believe that if they can get here, they can stay here.

All of our hearts and sympathies go out to people who live in these countries in terrible conditions. We understand why they want to come to the United States of America, but they are on a fool's errand.

Meanwhile, they are putting their very lives at risk by taking that arduous journey to Texas from Honduras, Guatemala, or some other Central American country.

I see my friend--and there is no greater advocate for the DREAMers than Senator Durbin--on the floor. He was one of the earliest and most outspoken on this issue. I hope he will join us in recognizing that the only way we can stop this is to make sure people know there is no pot of gold at the end of this terrible trip they are on.

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