Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SALMON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014.

This kind of came to light a few months ago when The Arizona Republic published a story that these families were being dropped at bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix. Then it highlighted the current administration's catch-and-release policies that are encouraging literally swarms of people to come across the 1,500-mile desert of Mexico into the United States, risking life, risking their happiness.

And the fact is, we can't keep doing nothing. This bill will stop these waves and waves of people from coming across our border.

As we went over to Guatemala and we went to Honduras and we talked with our State Department folks, that is exactly what they said: You have got to make it clear that we move from a catch-and-release policy to a detain-and-deport policy. And that is what this bill does. If we want to send a strong message to people that that $5,000 to $8,000 that they are paying to these thugs that are transporting across the border and hurting these young boys and girls along the way and then holding them for extra money, extorting their parents, that if we want to stop this from happening and stop the pain that is going on with these children, then the best thing that we can do is to send a clear message that in America, there are no permisos--permits, permissions; if you make that journey, you are going to be sent back to your country. That is the only thing that is going to make it happen.

Now, our liberal friends, they want to just throw more money at the problem and perpetuate the problem. They want it to keep happening. I say that is not compassionate. I say continuing that pain and that harm

to these children is not a good thing to do, and the way to stop it is to send a clear message.

We have got folks on my side of the aisle that have problems with the bill. What do they have a problem with? Nothing inside the bill. Not putting the National Guard on the border, not stopping the catch-and-release programs, and not giving unfettered access to our Border Patrol. They can't come up with a good reason to vote against it. They are playing right into Harry Reid's hands.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source