Traveling to the U.S.-Mexico Border
August 2, 2019 | |
Dear Friend, Visiting the United States-Mexico Border Visiting the United States-Mexico Border
On Wednesday afternoon, I flew down to El Paso, Texas, to join 24 other Members of Congress in investigating the impact of Trump Administration immigration policies. On Thursday, we traveled across the border into Juarez, Mexico, and talked to Mexican immigration officials and officials at the U.S. Consulate. On Friday, we traveled to a shelter for children aged 12 or older who arrived in our country unaccompanied or who were separated from their parents or guardians. We also visited an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility and talked with Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officers at the El Paso Port of Entry to the United States. We need a new policy at the border and regarding Central America. For more than 200 years, we followed the Monroe Doctrine to make Central America ours for our economic and political advantage with the help of corrupt Latin American rulers. We need a new Monroe Doctrine focused on investments in the people of Central America. See my remarks at a press conference on the border here. It was important for me to see the condition of these immigration shelters and talk to immigration officials so that we can have proper oversight of Trump immigration policies. We are a nation of immigrants and the reports of the Trump Administration's treatment of people coming to the United States, mainly from Central America, are disturbing. Demanding Answers from the Environmental Protection Agency on Coal Ash Pollution On Wednesday, I led a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler that was signed by 30 fellow Members of Congress. In the letter, we urge the EPA to immediately refrain from efforts to roll back the Coal Ash Rule and instead make good on its promise to expeditiously complete new rulemakings that strengthen the rule. We are concerned that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to weaken several critical health and environmental protections for the disposal of coal ash, rather than protect the health of communities near the hundreds of contaminated sites identified by the industry's own monitoring data. Vulnerable communities have been living with the devastating impacts of coal ash contamination for far too long. See my release and the letter to Wheeler here. Announcing $11.2 Million Grant to Memphis International Airport
Condemning the President's Racism I am growing increasingly concerned with President Trump's strident racism and his attacks on Members of Congress of color who have been rightly critical of his policy positions, most recently Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland who represents parts of Baltimore and is Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. Trump's use of racism is intentional and strategic, meaning Members of Congress must continue to unabashedly speak out against him and exercise our Constitutional duty of oversight of this lawless President. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and a good time to review your and your school children's immunization status before the new school year begins. See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines here. "The Trump Administration's actions at the southern border are grotesque and dehumanizing. There seems to be open contempt for the rule of law and for basic human decency." – Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland, July 2, 2019. As always, I remain Steve Cohen |