Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García’s Statement after Trip to Matamoros and Brownsville
“We witnessed the inhumanity of Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy”
Brownsville, TX - Congressman Jesús "Chuy" García and a delegation of Members of Congress traveled to Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico to investigate the impacts of the Trump Administration's Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as Remain in Mexico policy and the use of tent and court facilities to adjudicate asylum cases.
Watch video of the Congressman at the border:
Click here to see pictures of the trip.
Congressman García issued the following statement after the trip:
"What my colleagues and I saw today in the refugee camps in Matamoros is terrible. We witnessed the inhumanity of the Remain in Mexico policy and of the immigration courts established in tents in Brownsville by the Department of Homeland Security at the border. The Trump Administration should be ashamed.
"I talked to families from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador who left their countries because of violence, persecution, and unemployment. There are approximately 2,500 people living in squalor in what used to be a park. They came here hoping to get an opportunity to make their case for asylum. Very few of them have actually been able to have access to a lawyer to get the representation they need. Those who are lucky enough to have legal representation have been awaiting their court dates in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
"When Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced this policy last year, she claimed it would ‘address the urgent humanitarian and security crisis at the Southern border', yet what we witnessed today is a human rights crisis of major proportions.
"As Members of Congress, we will redouble our efforts to end this policy and restore decency to our asylum system and process. We will also continue to follow closely the lawsuits challenging the legality of this policy and do everything we can to help them prevail."
Since the Remain in Mexico policy was implemented on January 25, 2019, approximately 60,000 immigrants have been sent back to Mexico to wait for their court date in the United States, leaving them stranded for weeks or months. Earlier this week, the House Judiciary Committee announced that it plans to investigate the Remain in Mexico policy.
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