The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FIXING THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S UN-AMERICAN IMMIGRATION POLICIES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the in the Extensions of Remarks section section on page E1741 on Dec. 31, 2018.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FIXING THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S UN-AMERICAN
IMMIGRATION POLICIES
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HON. BARBARA LEE
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, December 31, 2018
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as an elected representative, but also as a mother--a mother who is horrified and outraged by the actions taken by the Trump Administration to deliberately separate families.
Like any mother, I love my children and cannot imagine being separated from them. But because of the Trump Administration's policies, some mothers have no choice.
Just this week, I have been working to reunite two mothers in my community who were prevented from reuniting with their families.
The first story I want to share is of Maria Mendoza-Sanchez. Maria has lived with her family in the East Bay for more than two decades. She and her husband Eusebio raised four beautiful children, worked hard, and purchased a home in Oakland.
Maria went to school while raising small children and went on to become a nurse at Highland Hospital. She was beloved by her patients and her colleagues.
Maria and Eusebio tried to do the right thing. They paid their taxes and came forward to legalize their immigration status. And for years, they were on a path to citizenship.
But like many families, Maria and Eusebio's efforts did not matter to the Trump Administration.
Under President Trump's misguided enforcement priorities, Maria and Eusebio were targeted for deportation.
And last summer--after more than twenty years building a life in our community--Maria and Eusebio were torn from their children and deported to Mexico.
But over the last sixteen months, we didn't give up. We kept working to reunite Maria with her family--to bring her home.
Finally, after more than a year of work, we were able to secure an H1-B visa for Maria. And this past Sunday, I was honored and overjoyed to join Maria as she was reunited with her children.
But Maria isn't the only mother torn from her children by President Trump's immigration policies.
Also in the news this week was the story of Shaima, whose son Abdullah Hassan has been on life support at Children's Hospital Oakland, in my district.
Abdullah is two years old and suffers from a genetic brain condition. His mother Shaima, who was born in Yemen, has been barred from travelling to the United States to be with her son because of the Trump Administration's un-American Muslim ban.
Abdullah doesn't have much time left--and Shaima feared that she would not be able to say goodbye to her young son.
Mr. Speaker--is this really who we are? A country that denies mothers safe passage to be with their dying children?
No family should ever have to endure this.
And in the face of such unimaginable cruelty, I am proud to say that our community stepped up. I want to thank everyone who showed up, who protested and organized and petitioned for this outcome.
Because of your advocacy, the State Department granted a visa waiver to Shaima so she can be with her son. She will be able to be with her son, to hug him and to say goodbye.
But we know that there are many other people like Maria and Shaima who remain separated from their families.
When I went down to the border earlier this year, I saw the prison-
like conditions that they were keeping children in.
There were kids sleeping on concrete floor--with only thin emergency blankets to keep them warm.
And to this very day, there are hundreds of children in HHS custody. And Secretary Nielson can't tell us when they will be reunited.
Let's be clear: this isn't an immigration policy. This is a family separation policy.
Children torn from their mothers, parents deported away from their kids. And it's up to Congress to stop it.
It's past time for us to restore--justice, dignity and common sense to this immigration system.
We need to ensure kids who have lived here their entire lives--like Maria's oldest daughter--can make a life in the only country they have ever known.
We need to get this disgraceful, discriminatory travel ban off the books, so no loved one has to experience what Shaima went through.
We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform so that people like Maria and Eusebio can come out of the shadows.
Mr. Speaker--for every case like Maria's or Shaima's there are dozens more left unresolved.
Countless families have been left in limbo, unsure if or when they will ever see their loved ones again.
Not only do we owe it to these families to fix our broken immigration system--we owe it to the country and the constitution to live up to American values.
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