Explosion of Unaccompanied Minors at the Border is a Direct Consequence of Obama’s Policies
Sen. Cruz Questions DHS Secretary Johnson about the influx of unaccompanied minors
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the increasing numbers of unaccompanied minors illegally crossing the Southern border during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
“In 2011, there were roughly 7,000 unaccompanied minors who were apprehended,” Sen. Cruz told Sec. Johnson. “In 2012, that number rose to 14,000. In 2013, it rose to 24,000. And, in 2014, your agency is estimating it is going to be as high as 90,000. In 2015, the administration is estimating that it will rise all the way to 145,000.”
“It’s important to understand what those numbers represent. These numbers represent children,” Sen. Cruz went on. “Little boys and little girls, their parents are handing them over not to some noble social worker trying to help them. They are handing them over to international, global criminal cartels that smuggle human beings in. They put kids, among other places, on top of fast-moving freight trains. They are criminals who assault, sexually assault, and sometimes murder these children. These are little girls that are sometimes being sold into prostitution and sex slavery.”
“Mr. Secretary, you testified to this committee the increase is a result of violence in Central America and there is surely violence in Central America, but if you look at the statistics…midway through 2012, was when Administration unilaterally granted amnesty to some 800,000 people who had been minors, with the so-called DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] proceeding. And, you can see sometime after that the numbers spike dramatically. Is it really your testimony that granting amnesty to some 800,000 people who came here illegally as children had no effect in causing a dramatic increase of children being handed over to international drug cartels to be smuggled in here illegally?”
During his time, Sen. Cruz also read a letter from a constituent in Brooks County, TX that said:
“I live on a Brooks County ranch with my wife, Linda. In 2012, 129 bodies of deceased illegal aliens were found in our County on private ranch land. Most of these bodies were found within 15 minutes of our front door in any given direction! We believe these bodies represent only 20-25% of the actual number of illegal immigrants dying in this area. . . . In one week of last July, I personally rescued 15 people (most were Central Americans) that were lost and close to dying from dehydration and heat exhaustion. . . . This same week I found a deceased person that had been laid across a dirt road in order to be found. He was a 31 year old man from El Salvador.”
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