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Pelosi Remarks at Congressional Hispanic Caucus Press Conference on Child Migrant Humanitarian Situation

August 1, 2014

Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in hosting a press conference on the child migrant humanitarian situation and the Republicans' inhumane supplemental appropriations bill proposal:

"Thank you very much Chairman Hinojosa and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. I say to you: thank you. You make us so proud for helping us stand up for our responsibilities to this great country. As others say to us: ‘America is great because America is good.'

"Today could have been an opportunity for coming together. We've extended the hand of friendship to the Speaker to say: ‘Let us work together to get this done,' when we saw the path that they were on that was unsustainable and unsupportable from our standpoint. We have a day where – instead of responding to the concerns expressed by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Evangelical Table, and the American Bar Association, instead of responding to the objections they have to this legislation, the Republicans have moved more to the right. Not to the correct, but to the right.

"And so, we have a situation where with all the best intentions in the world – in a bipartisan way in 2008 – Democrats and Republicans came together for a bill, the Wilberforce bill, signed by President Bush, signed by a Republican president. We cannot let the message coming out of here be that: yes, we want it to be magnanimous and say that we embraced children who might be involved in human trafficking and the rest. But if it got to be too many children, well, that was another thing.

"So let us respond to the concerns that are expressed about the inadequacy of the resources to meet the needs of the children, the adequacy of the resources to meet the due process and representation for them, and judges to facilitate their either acceptance or repatriation to their home country. And let us remember that some of these children have been through terribly traumatic situations, and now we can't make matters worse for them.

"I want to recall – paint a picture that Representative Castro had on the floor of the House today: the soldiers with guns pointed at the border. Is that how we say: ‘Suffer little children and come unto us?'

"With that I'm pleased to yield to the distinguished Democratic Whip of the House Steny Hoyer."

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