Human Rights
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America who crossed into Texas are overwhelming Border Patrol Agents.
Bill Holston heads the Human Rights Initiative in Dallas, which helps the children gain legal status in the U.S. "These are traumatized kids. They've made an arduous journey from Central America."
But immigration courts are backlogged, which means it often takes years before the children can go before a judge and find out whether they can stay or must leave.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas is running out of room to house the thousands of Central American children who illegally crossed the border.
And Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, says the solution is not to continue piling them into bus stations and other makeshift shelters — including unused schools in North Texas — as officials try to find the best way to return the children safely to their families in countries as far away as Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Texas is running out of room to house the thousands of Central American children who illegally crossed the border.
And U.S. Rep. Kay Granger said Saturday that the solution is not to continue piling them into bus stations and other makeshift shelters — including unused schools in North Texas — as officials try to find the best way to return the children safely to their families in countries as far away as Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f30UqRTjbJw
The border is secure. It's more secure than ever. It's so, so secure.
Texas leaders say it's time to stop talking and take action on the growing humanitarian crisis at the border.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is the latest Texas official to weigh in with proposed legislation to grapple with the dilemma, in which a growing number of children continue illegally crossing the country's southwest border into this state.
Cornyn plans to file a bill along with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, to speed up deportations of thousands of Central American children — and ensure their safety while they are here.
On July 10, 2014 Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for one minute regarding the humanitarian crisis along the US border:
"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to do the right thing: to work across the aisle and take swift action to address the humanitarian crisis that our Nation is currently facing.
Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) released the following statement commemorating the celebration of Juneteenth:
"On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War and slavery, in America, had ended.
From its Texas origin, the observance of Juneteenth as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond as a symbol of freedom.
Washington D.C. – Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, Member of the Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement marking the passing of Maya Angelou:
"A talented and remarkable woman, Dr. Maya Angelou dedicated her life to making a difference in the lives of others. I can remember reading her poetry as a young man and feeling deeply connected with the words that continue to speak to the conscience of our nation.
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
This week, the civil rights legacy of President Lyndon B. Johnson is being celebrated and every Texan should be proud.
President Barack Obama and three living former U.S. Presidents -- George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter -- are visiting the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin to discuss such issues as same-sex marriage, immigration policy, race, women, and education and to honor President Johnson's tremendous leadership in winning passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.