MISSION, Texas – The three members of Congress from South Texas – U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, Filemon Vela, and Vicente Gonzalez, have been in great demand on the TV networks this past week.
The subject for which their views have been sought is the surge in border crossings by unaccompanied minors, mostly from the countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Rep. Vela told the national media:
“There is no perfect fix here. The administration is doing the right thing because the law requires that we process unaccompanied minors. However, we are in the middle of a pandemic and our systems are being overwhelmed. At some point, it is important to take a practical approach. Thirteen percent of the unaccompanied minors are under the age of 12. One logical approach to this situation would be to return the older teenagers to their home country and provide funding for an effort supervised by the United Nations to properly care for those teenagers upon their return. Then, once the pandemic is under control you could phase the program back in so that there would be some semblance of control over the process. I think that this would help relieve the current burden.”
Here are the views Rep. Cuellar’s views on the subject:
And here is Rep. Gonzalez’s analysis:
Editor’s Note: The main image accompanying the above news story shows unaccompanied minors at a detention center on the southern border. (Photo credit: ABC News).
Quality journalism takes time, effort and…. Money!
Producing quality journalism is not cheap. The coronavirus has resulted in falling revenues across the newsrooms of the United States. However, The Rio Grande Guardian is committed to producing quality news reporting on the issues that matter to border residents. The support of our members is vital in ensuring our mission gets fulfilled.
Can we count on your support? If so, click HERE. Thank you!
Keep on top of the big stories affecting the Texas-Mexico. Join our mailing list to receive regular email alerts.
