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“In the summer of 2017, the Trump administration quietly used El Paso as testing ground for its shameful family separation policy, which was publicly implemented one year ago, and that inhumanely ripped thousands of children from their parents’ arms at our southern border. Read more »

“It is important that no individual or organization impede a person’s legal right to seek asylum in the United States,” Escobar, Luján and Haaland wrote in the letter. “The FBI must immediately launch an investigation into this unlawful conduct.” Read more »

“We have seen billions of dollars in funding go to the Department of Homeland Security to be spent on enforcement, but there has not been a similar push for accountability and oversight,” said Congresswoman Escobar. Read more »

Every day, both the U.S. and Mexico work cooperatively to secure the shared border and facilitate the efficient flow of goods and tourism, while curtailing the illicit flow of drugs, people, arms, and cash at ports of entry. These operations serve as the backbone of bilateral interconnectedness— closing down any one of the ports of entry, let alone the whole border, would have a myriad of unintended and irreparable economic, diplomatic, cultural, and humanitarian consequences. Read more »

“Dreamers are part of the rich and beautiful fabric of our nation. Congress has a duty to protect them against the Trump administration, and take real steps to ensure the confidential information they provided about themselves and their families is never used against them,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “That is why I’m proud to join Congresswoman Torres to introduce the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act and help thousands of Dreamers across the country, including the almost 9,000 from El Paso.” Read more »

“Once again, Secretary Nielsen is using an increase in the number of asylum seekers as a vehicle to promote an abhorrent policy. Her request for broader authority to detain families indefinitely and deport migrant children, denying them their right to due process, is offensive and anti-American.” Read more »

“For the last five years, we’ve known that Central American families have been leaving their countries because of poverty, starvation, violence, and persecution. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has repeatedly failed to lead with any meaningful solutions and has used cruelty as a tool to address this humanitarian crisis. The approach announced today is no different. Read more »

“Today, the Trump administration decided to once again ignore our immigration laws and expand a dangerous policy in order to deter asylum seekers fleeing violence, persecution and poverty from seeking refuge in our country. Read more »

“Today, President Trump decided to grossly defy our system of checks and balances and ignore the first branch of government’s vote to defend our Constitution and end his fake emergency. Read more »

On February 21, 2019, CBP announced the installation of barbed wire barriers in response to the increasing numbers of Central American asylum-seekers. The lawmakers state in the letter that although Central American asylum-seeking families and children represent a humanitarian challenge, there is no national emergency to justify the deployment of these barriers. Read more »