Congressman Cleaver's Statement on Emergency Humanitarian Aid at America's Southern Border
(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Cleaver released the following statement on passage of H.R. 3401, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives last night by a vote of 230-195.
"I am, along with most Americans, utterly appalled by the conditions of the facilities where thousands of children, separated from their parents while migrating from desperate circumstances in Central America are being detained. After seeing the images and hearing the stories of the family separations and inhumane treatment these children are receiving from the United States government, I am sure we look like an iron-handed and heartless nation to the people around the globe.
"Yet these are not the values we claim to hold so dearly as a nation, nor can it be a perception we allow to take root across the world. America must always be a beacon for justice and a leader in the fight for human rights, and, when challenged with evidence to the contrary, we must have the national fortitude to reflect and respond with compassion.
"For that reason, last night, I voted for emergency humanitarian aid to rectify the barbaric conditions that have traumatized thousands of migrant children and rightfully outraged Americans all over the country. This funding will go towards providing these children with adequate food, sanitation, and other basic necessities, while funding alternative solutions to the mass detention of asylum seekers that is at the root of this humanitarian crisis.
"I am under no false pretenses that this remedy will satisfactorily address all the issues our nation faces at the border, and I will continue to push for further congressional oversight as well as a truly bipartisan and comprehensive immigration bill. However, this was an immediate action to rectify the human rights abuses that are currently occurring at our border facilities and sends an important message to the rest of the world that America will not stand for such treatment. Now, I call on my colleagues in the Senate to do what is right and pass this bill.
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Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. For more information, please contact Matthew Helfant at 202-225-4535 or Matthew.Helfant@mail.house.gov You can find a high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver here
