Press Releases

 – Today, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon released the following statement regarding her “no” vote on the Senate border appropriations bill.

“A few months ago, I had the opportunity to go to our southern border, meet with border patrol agents, advocates on the ground, a woman separated from her children, and tour detention facilities. The humanitarian crisis was undeniable then and has only gotten worse.

“In addition to suspending critical aid designed to relieve conditions causing desperate families to flee their homes, the Trump administration is failing to use longstanding lawful processes and available resources to provide relief to children and refugees at our southern border. These policies are not making us safer, but worsening the situation, at the expense of the health and wellbeing of children and families.

“There are unused beds at facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas, and many refugee children have relatives available to sponsor them.

“Prior to coming to Congress, I represented immigrants and asylum seekers, who, by definition, lawfully enter the country seeking refuge. I can confidently say that international law is being violated on a daily basis, and this administration has abandoned long-standing legal norms for processing asylees, with the apparent purpose of exacerbating the crisis for political gain.

“I agree that we need to send additional resources to relieve the inhumane conditions affecting refugees and children at the border. That is why I was ready to support the House version of the border relief bill which would do this, while ensuring that those resources were not misused to exacerbate an already tragic situation.

“However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has once again chosen to put partisan politics before the wellbeing of children and families. The Senate’s latest bill would send millions to ICE and CBP without the necessary protections to ensure that these funds would not be used to continue this cycle of neglect and abuse at our southern border.

“I cannot support this bill in its current form and I have decided to vote against it.

“This administration and its enablers have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and any bill that does not provide for the necessary oversight of these funds is not a solution I can support in good faith.

“I will never stop fighting to improve the health and wellbeing of innocent children and families at our southern border and the necessary resources to relieve this crisis. “

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