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Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security approved Congresswoman Veronica Escobar’s (TX-16) Homeland Security Improvement Act.

H.R. 2203, the Homeland Security Improvement Act addresses our nation’s immigration challenges at the southern border by ensuring accountability and oversight within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). After the favorable Committee markup of her legislation, Congresswoman Escobar issued the following statement:

“H.R. 2203 affirms our nation’s commitment to helping the most vulnerable among us, while ensuring DHS has the accountability and oversight it so desperately needs so that our government ends the inhumane and dangerous conditions that have fueled the humanitarian crisis in El Paso and along our southern border.

“This bill makes significant improvements to the way the Department and its agents operate, incorporating community input and robust reporting requirements. Further, as a nation of values, this bill ensures that DHS addresses our challenges in a humane manner by ending dangerous policies that put asylum-seeking families at risk, like metering and family separation.

“I want to acknowledge and thank Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Bennie Thompson for their leadership and Homeland Security Committee members’ work in supporting this critical legislation and leading in our nation’s fight to restore human dignity.”