Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner regarding the situation along the Southwest border where thousands of unaccompanied minors are streaming across the border illegally. Wolf calls the insurgence a "crisis" and points out that it's putting undue strain on the nation's social services and suggests the formation of a House task force "to ensure the Congress is doing everything it can to secure our borders, protect national security, prevent the exploitation of children and help avert local jurisdictions, school systems and social service agencies from being overwhelmed."
Here's Rep. Wolf's letter in its entirety:
The Honorable John A. Boehner
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232 The CapitolDear Mr. Speaker:
Over the last several months, we have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the number of foreign minors illegally crossing the southern U.S. border. According to NBC News, "In previous years, 6,000 to 8,000 children a year crossed the border without an adult or guardian. But the numbers jumped in 2011 to about 13,525, then to 25,000 in 2012 and about 47,000 in 2013. This year they were expected to number 60,000 but may be as much as 90,000."
This dramatic increase is straining the federal government's ability to safely detain and return these children to their families in their home countries. In addition, local social service agencies and the school systems in the localities where these children are being resettled will be overwhelmed. We should also be concerned that the sheer number of unaccompanied minors coming across Mexico and in being settled in the U.S. opens the door for these children to be exploited by violent gangs and sexual traffickers. In northern Virginia, more than a thousand miles away from the border, we have spent the last decade working to disrupt and prevent central American gangs, like MS-13, and human trafficking networks, which target and prey on minors who come to this country illegally.
The administration's failure to act appears to actually encourage more illegal crossings, making more children vulnerable to criminal predators. This influx of illegal border crossings has been exacerbated by the Obama Administration's failure to take meaningful steps to discourage and disrupt the flow of minors through Central America and Mexico prior to reaching the border. Once here, the administration has prioritized the placement of minors inside the U.S. over returning them to their home countries.
This misguided approach, along with the administration's failure to take any meaningful steps to curb this problem, demonstrates the need for congressional action. I am aware that the House Judiciary Committee is having a hearing on this issue next week and I applaud Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte's efforts.
I write today to ask that you build on what the Judiciary Committee is doing and put together a bipartisan task force led by Chairman Goodlatte and Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul to quickly develop a solution to this crisis and ensure that the House uses every legislative and procedural tool at its disposal to compel the administration to act. Other Republican members that could serve on the task force include John Carter, John Culberson and Kay Granger. Similarly, Democrat members from states on our southern border should be appointed to the task force.
There is a crisis on our borders. It's going to require everyone working together, authorizers and appropriators, to solve this in light of the intransigence of the Obama Administration. My recommendation for a task force is one approach the House should consider, although there may be other ideas, to ensure the Congress is doing everything it can to secure our borders, protect national security, prevent the exploitation of children and help avert local jurisdictions, school systems and social service agencies from being overwhelmed.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress
You can read more on Rep. Wolf's website.
