Amber Poon NYU John Brademas Center Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds for the 113 th Congress Our state has the most at stake in any immigration reform debate, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California addressed 53 colleagues in the House to draw support for a comprehensive immigration bill. 1 California home to more than two million undocumented immigrants has long called for a federal reform to meet the nation s economic demands and retain a talented workforce. 2 On June 27, 2013, U.S. senators of the 113 th Congress passed the S. 744 Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. This monumental, bipartisan immigration reform bill, which was first introduced by Senator Charles Schumer of New York, addressed border enforcement issues and the legalization process. After heated debates giving rise to over 500 amendments, this bill finally passed through the Senate by a vote of 68-32. 3 Despite the reform s giant leap forward, the final overhaul awaited on a resistant House. California, perhaps more than any other state, has and will continue to benefit from the contributions of immigrants, Senators Feinstein and Boxer cited a 2013 study by the Center for American Progress and the University of Southern California that predicted the legislation would empower immigrants to invest estimated $8 billion in the state economy, creating more than 18,000 jobs. 4 The House Republicans responded by introducing a series of piecemeal immigration bills. 1 Feinstein, Boxer to CA House Members: Pass Comprehensive Immigration Bill, July 17, 2013, 2 Laura Hill and Joseph Hayes, Undocumented Immigrants, Public Policy Institute of California, February 2013, http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=818. 3 Seung Min Kim, Immigration reform bill 2013: Senate passes legislation 68-32, Politico, June 27, 2013, http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/immigration-bill-2013-senate-passes-93530.html. 4 Feinstein, Boxer to CA House Members: Pass Comprehensive Immigration Bill, July 17, 2013,
However, the following summer drew nationwide attention to what the Obama administration and leading advocacy groups identified as an urgent humanitarian situation unfolding at the southwest border. 5 In 2014, U.S. border patrol officers have witnessed an incredible surge of unaccompanied children primarily from Central America entering the U.S. With lawmakers colored by past immigration struggles and leading Republicans expressing distrust of President Obama s commitment to enforce current immigration laws, the White House and Congress clashed over response measures as tens of thousands continued to arrive. 6 By the end of June 2014, more than 52,000 unaccompanied children arrived at the border. 7 As the Administration remarked, many were driven north from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to escape the intensifying violence of organized crime networks in their home countries, the lack of economic opportunities, with the desire to reunite with family members in the U.S. 89 In his congressional testimony on July 20, 2014, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson anticipated the apprehensions of both unaccompanied children and families to reach 90,000 by the end of the year. 10 Many of the children are young girls, often under the age of 13 and are vulnerable to exploitation if not given the proper relief. 11 However, previous efforts have been made to combat human trafficking and child exploitation. Under the William Wilberforce 5 Lauren Carasik, Minors cross US southern border need protection, Azcentral.com, June 18, 2014, http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/6/migrant-childrenussouthernborderimmigrationreform.html. 6 Michael D. Shear and Jeremy W. Peters, Obama Asks for $3.7 Billion to Aid Border, New York Times, July 8, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/us/obama-seeks-billions-for-children-immigration-crisis.html?_r=0. 7 Angela Greiling Keane and Darrell Preston, Obama Presses Perry to Help Win Emergency Border Request, Business Week, July 9, 2014, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-09/obama-presses-perry-to-help-winemergency-border-request. 8 Jennifer Scholtes, White House Boosts Response to Surge in Child Migrants, Roll Call, June 2, 2014, http://www.rollcall.com/news/white_house_boosts_response_to_surge_in_child_migrants-233492-1.html. 9 Katie Zezima, Could Rumors be partially responsible for an influx of unaccompanied children to the U.S.? The Washington Post, June 6, 2014, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/06/could-rumors-bepartially-responsible-for-an-influx-of-unaccompanied-children-to-the-u-s/. 10 Surge of Unaccompanied Children, FactCheck.org, July 18, 2014, http://www.factcheck.org/2014/07/surgeof-unaccompanied-children/. 11 Lauren Carasik, Minors cross US southern border need protection, Azcentral.com, June 18, 2014, http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/6/migrant-childrenussouthernborderimmigrationreform.html.
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to abide by a complex resettlement process to ensure due process and safe and accurate repatriation of migrants arriving from noncontiguous countries. 12 The law has then lengthened the average processing times. As public health and safety concerns rise with each new arrival, Congress must respond to the $3.7 billion supplemental appropriation requested by the President. This emergency funding would increase border security, court processing, medical treatment, and transportation to Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters across the country for migrant arrivals. 13 The Administration has also communicated its efforts to work with partners from several Central American countries and Mexico, along with nongovernmental organizations, on the prescribed issues. 14 White House officials now await congressional consideration. Yet, surrounding this increasingly contentious issue is the political polarization found not only on the Hill but also throughout the country. Some elected officials and the greater public argue that the executive 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program halting mass deportations for young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children has sent a wrong signal to the rest of the world. 15 Meanwhile, others are more concerned that expedited repatriation would return unaccompanied children to a home perpetuated by drug-related violence, political instability, and poverty. 12 Surge of Unaccompanied Children, FactCheck.org, July 18, 2014, http://www.factcheck.org/2014/07/surgeof-unaccompanied-children/. 13 Surge of Unaccompanied Children, FactCheck.org, July 18, 2014, http://www.factcheck.org/2014/07/surgeof-unaccompanied-children/. 14 Remarks by President Obama After Meeting with Central American Presidents. Whitehouse.gov, July 25, 2014, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/25/remarks-president-obama-after-meeting-central-americanpresidents. 15 Dan Nowicki, Border crisis rocks U.S., Arizona immigration politics, Azcentral.com, July 21, 2014, http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/07/21/border-crisis-immigration-politicsarizona/12930583/.
Representatives from affected southwestern states also have a number of their own concerns. Currently, the HHS runs about 100 permanent shelters located primarily along the U.S.-Mexico border. But due to the sudden influx of children and families, immigration officials were required to set up facilities at military bases in California, Oklahoma, and Texas, which caused unrest among some residents. 16 In early July 2014, a group of 140 women and children were flown from overcrowded facilities in Texas into Southern California and scheduled to arrive at the Border Patrol station in the city of Murrieta. The migrant families were then met with a crowd of screaming protesters after Murrieta s mayor underscored the strain on local infrastructures and resources. 17 Senator Feinstein, however, has expressed support for federal, state, and local assistance. As senior member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, she has addressed her colleagues and the public that children apprehended at the border must be protected from mistreatment and should not be forced to navigate the U.S. legal system alone. 18 President Obama and his administration need the proper resources to tackle these objectives. Despite the urgency, Congress cannot agree on a funding bill amid seemingly irreconcilable divisions in Washington. The Senate proposed a $2.7 billion package on the condition that the 2008 anti-trafficking law remains intact, despite Republican push for amendment. By the end of July, House lawmakers reduced their own proposal to $1 billion. 19 This setback has left the Administration to reallocate limited resources and stretch a depleting budget. August recess was only a few short weeks away. 16 Haeyoun Park, Children at the Border, The New York Times, August 7, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/15/us/questions-about-the-border-kids.html?_r=0. 17 Jennifer Medina, Protestors in California Delay Transfer of Migrants, The New York Times, July 1, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/us/protesters-in-california-delay-transfer-of-migrants.html. 18 Sen. Feinstein: Here s how to deal with the desperate children at the border, Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2014, http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-feinstein-child-immigrants-20140624-story.html. 19 David Nakamura and Ed O Keefe, Little hope in White House for emergency funds to stem influx of migrants at border, The Washington Post, July 25, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/01/politics/congress-immigration/.
And, in the midst of this unraveling humanitarian crisis, House Republicans have failed to bring a comprehensive immigration bill to vote, exacerbating tensions on the floor and leaving supporters on both sides disappointed. 20 A key architect to the House immigration bill, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida acknowledges his frustration within his own party, the delay of a commonsense solution is only going to make matters worse with the crisis on the Southern border. 21 Despite greater attention to recent border developments, Border Patrol agents have reported increased numbers of unaccompanied children from Central America since fall of 2011. Further congressional inaction, however, would be detrimental to the current burdens of our immigration system the limited number of immigration courts and legal representation, backlog on the growing caseload, and detention centers filled beyond capacity. 22 California, one largest recipients of the recent influx, would soon suffer the effects of unsustainable detention centers and immigration courts if provided with no resource. Yet, the Senate s immigration bill victory in 2013 exemplifies bipartisan legislative effort is still possible. Heard on both sides of the aisle is the compelling need to engage in compromise. The leadership in Congress, however, must carry the momentum for sweeping changes and strengthen future cooperation in the legislature, along with other federal, state, and local agencies. Our California Senators nicely capture the essence of this situation, As much as we have to lose if reform efforts fail, we have even more to gain if they succeed. 23 Therefore, our 20 Elise Foley, Mario Diaz-Balart Concedes Defeat on Immigration, For Now, The Huffington Post, July 10, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/mario-diaz-balart-immigration_n_5574953.html. 21 Elise Foley, Mario Diaz-Balart Concedes Defeat on Immigration, For Now, The Huffington Post, July 10, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/mario-diaz-balart-immigration_n_5574953.html. 22 Dara Lind, 14 facts that help explain America s child-migrant crisis, Vox Media, July 19, 2014, http://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5813406/explain-child-migrant-crisis-central-america-unaccompanied-childrenimmigrants-daca. 23 Feinstein, Boxer to CA House Members: Pass Comprehensive Immigration Bill, July 17, 2013,
immigration policies must evolve and adapt to present circumstances in order to move this country forward fully addressing our moral imperative and humanitarian challenges ahead. 24 24 Feinstein, Boxer to CA House Members: Pass Comprehensive Immigration Bill, July 17, 2013,