Received the following letter from our Representative. Had to share. He responded to my phone call made yesterday, BETO OROURKE 16th District, Texas Congress of the United States // House of Representatives // Washington, DC 20515 1721 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-4831 July 10, 2014 Dr. Sharon S. Miles-Bonart 6524 Loma De Cristo Dr El Paso, TX 79912-7301 Dear Dr. Miles-Bonart, Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on the recent increase of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) crossing into the United States from Mexico. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, there were 19,668 apprehensions of UACs in the United States. At that time, 82 percent of these children were from Mexico while 17 percent came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. That number has vastly increased as has the proportion of UACs coming from Central America. In just the first eight months of FY 2014, there have been 47,017 apprehensions of UACs with 73 percent coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and only 25 percent from Mexico. In order to stem the flow of these children coming to the United States, we need to invest in efforts that both get at the root causes of this migration and discourage Central American families from sending their children along this dangerous trek. I recently joined my House colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to make available additional resources to address the causes of this migration pattern. Specifically, the letter urges the President to further invest in State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs that promote economic development and job growth opportunities in Central American countries while strengthening access to education and youth development. By focusing on these priorities, among others, we can responsibly address this situation. As El Pasoans living in a bi-national city built on immigration and cross border trade, we also have a unique perspective to bring to the immigration debate that may help address issues such as UACs. I will bring that perspective to Congress and work on a solution that not only treats immigrants in search of the American dream fairly, but will economically and socially benefit El Paso and the rest of the nation. Thanks again for contacting me. I invite you to keep up with the latest votes, legislation, and work from our office on Facebook where we provide daily updates. You can also get more information on the web. Sincerely, (signed) Beto ORourke Member of Congress
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 23:05:15 +0000
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