Beyer votes for border legislation to protect children

Rep. Don Beyer voted for H.R. 3401, a $4.5 billion emergency border supplemental appropriations bill to address the urgent humanitarian situation at our Southern border.

The bill, which passed on a bipartisan vote, provides significant funding for priorities to meet the needs of vulnerable children, including food, water, medical services, legal assistance, support services for unaccompanied children, alternatives to detention, and refugee services. The bill also contains important oversight provisions to hold the Administration accountable and protect the rights of immigrants.

“The heartbreaking conditions facing children at the border should shock all of us,” said Rep. Beyer. “I continue to be appalled by the Administration’s cruel immigration policies that threaten the health, well-being, and even the very lives of these children. Families belong together, and Congress must do everything possible to prevent the needless suffering of innocent children. The Senate must take this bill up immediately and end this tragic disaster at the border.”

This legislation:

• Provides $4.5 billion in emergency spending to address the humanitarian situation at the border – strengthening health standards for children and families in CBP custody and securing robust funding for priorities including legal assistance, food, water, sanitary items, blankets and medical services, support services for unaccompanied children and refugees, which will relieve the horrific situation of over-crowding and help prevent additional deaths.
• Protects families and does not fund the Administration’s failed mass detention policy – funding effective, humane alternatives to detention with a proven track record of success, placing strict limits on influx shelters, protecting sponsors from DHS immigration enforcement based on information collected by HHS during the vetting process and requiring DHS to submit its plans to Congress to ensure strong congressional oversight, including to protect unaccompanied children.
• Helps address the roots causes of the crisis – reversing the Administration’s senseless decision to block the U.S. assistance that Congress has already appropriated for the Northern Triangle countries, and ensuring funding is used responsibly to improve border security, stop human smuggling and drug trafficking, combat corruption and reduce poverty and promote growth in Central America.