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Sánchez Statement on Visit to Texas Processing Facility for Unaccompanied Children with DHS Secretary Mayorkas

May 7, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA) traveled to Donna, Texas with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and fellow lawmakers to receive an update on unaccompanied children arriving at our Southern Border. After the event, Congresswoman Sánchez issued the following statement:

"Today, I joined the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and colleagues from the House of Representatives in Donna, Texas to assess the progress made by President Biden and his Administration to process unaccompanied children arriving at our Southern Border.

"President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Mayorkas inherited a dismantled and gutted immigration system. And although there is no way to fix four years of damage in four months, this Administration has worked around the clock to process children safely, humanely, and in line with our immigration laws.

"In the past few days, we have seen the footage of mothers embracing children they were separated from years ago. As a moth er myself, I can imagine no greater gift on Mother's Day weekend. I applaud this Administration for reassuring the world that the United States believes families belong together.

"And today, there are 80 percent less children being held by Border Patrol in facilities, like the one we saw today, than there were in late March. That is incredible progress.

"But to truly fix our immigration system, we must pass immigration reform that matches the challenges of our time and the values of our nation. We need to pass President Biden's immigration bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act, to reform our immigration system from top to bottom. The American people are ready for an immigration system that actually works. It is far past time that we deliver."

Issues:Immigration