[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]






 
AN UNBEARABLE PRICE: THE DEVASTATING HUMAN COSTS OF THE BIDEN-MAYORKAS 
                             BORDER CRISIS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               before the

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-28

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     

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        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

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                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

                 Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee, Chairman
Michael T. McCaul, Texas             Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, 
Clay Higgins, Louisiana                  Ranking Member
Michael Guest, Mississippi           Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Dan Bishop, North Carolina           Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida           Eric Swalwell, California
August Pfluger, Texas                J. Luis Correa, California
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York        Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Tony Gonzales, Texas                 Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Nick LaLota, New York                Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Mike Ezell, Mississippi              Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Anthony D'Esposito, New York         Robert Garcia, California
Laurel M. Lee, Florida               Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Morgan Luttrell, Texas               Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Dale W. Strong, Alabama              Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma              Dina Titus, Nevada
Elijah Crane, Arizona
                      Stephen Siao, Staff Director
                  Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
                       Natalie Nixon, Chief Clerk
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                               Statements

The Honorable Mark E. Green, a Representative in Congress From 
  the State of Tennessee, and Chairman, Committee of Homeland 
  Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     1
  Prepared Statement.............................................     5
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     7
  Prepared Statement.............................................     9
The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Texas:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    89
The Honorable Glenn Ivey, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Maryland:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    89

                               Witnesses

Mr. Tim Ballard, Private Citizen:
  Oral Statement.................................................    11
  Prepared Statement.............................................    12
Ms. Mayra Hinojosa Cantu, Private Citizen:
  Oral Statement.................................................    14
  Prepared Statement.............................................    16
Ms. Sandy Snodgrass, Founder, Alaska Fentanyl Response:
  Oral Statement.................................................    18
  Prepared Statement.............................................    20
Mr. Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, ACLU Immigrants' Rights 
  Project, American Civil Liberties Union:
  Oral Statement.................................................    41
  Prepared Statement.............................................    43

                             For the Record

The Honorable Daniel S. Goldman, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of New York:
  Article, Reuters, July 24, 2023................................    61


AN UNBEARABLE PRICE: THE DEVASTATING HUMAN COSTS OF THE BIDEN-MAYORKAS 
                             BORDER CRISIS

                              ----------                              


                      Tuesday, September 13, 2023

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                                            Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:13 a.m., in 
room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Mark Green 
[Chairman of the committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Green, McCaul, Higgins, Guest, 
Bishop, Gimenez, Pfluger, Garbarino, Greene, Gonzales, LaLota, 
Ezell, D'Esposito, Lee, Luttrell, Strong, Brecheen, Crane, De 
La Cruz, Thompson, Payne, Correa, Thanedar, Magaziner, Goldman, 
Garcia, Ramirez, and Menendez.
    Chairman Green. The Committee on Homeland Security will 
come to order without objection. The Chair may declare the 
committee in recess at any point.
    Without objection, the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. De La 
Cruz, is permitted to sit on the dais and ask questions to the 
witnesses.
    The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on 
Secretary Mayorkas' open border policies and how they have 
taken a terrible human cost across America.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    When we talk about the crisis at our Southwest Border, it 
is easy to focus on the big picture, on Secretary Mayorkas' 
open border policies, the chaos unfolding directly at the 
border itself, and the larger costs that this unprecedented 
wave of illegal immigration has imposed on our society. We tend 
to talk about record Border Patrol apprehensions, which, by the 
way, have risen from a temporary low of 100,000 in June to 
132,000 in July, and reported 177,000 in August, completely 
undermining claims that Mayorkas' new policies would somehow 
limit illegal crossings. All these things are worth focusing 
on, and that is why this committee is investigating the 
administration's border crisis, particularly DHS Secretary 
Alejandro, Mayorkas' dereliction of duty, and his radical open 
border policies. However, these larger discussions often 
overlook the devastating human toll this crisis has taken on 
individuals and families across our country. We have long said 
that this crisis has turned every State into a border State and 
every town into a border town. The consequences of the chaos at 
the Southwest Border have spread throughout our country, 
impacting all Americans. The men and women on our panel bear 
witness to this tragic reality.
    Before we hear their stories, I want to highlight a few of 
the ways in which Mayorkas' open border policies have exacted a 
terrible price on an untold number of innocent and vulnerable 
people, Americans and migrants alike.
    Let's start with fentanyl. Phase two of this committee's 
investigation established that the Mexican cartels have taken 
unprecedented control of our Southwest Border and have used 
that control to push record amounts of fentanyl across the 
border and into our communities. Tens of thousands of Americans 
are dying from fentanyl poisoning, often without knowing they 
are consuming the drug in the first place. DHS has said they 
think they are only catching 5 to 10 percent of the fentanyl 
crossing our border. The CDC predicted in May that opioid 
overdose deaths, including those from fentanyl, increased in 
2022 to nearly 83,000. The cartels are killing Americans, 
particularly young people, one poisoning at a time. Yet where 
is the outrage from Mayorkas? Where is the action?
    The cartels have exacted a heavy price from the very 
migrants that they smuggle and traffic across the border. At 
least 1,700 migrants have been found dead on U.S. soil under 
this administration's policies. CBP stopped publicly reporting 
this statistic after fiscal year 2021. But I am calling on them 
to report this figure once again so the American people 
understand the human cost of this open border. Former Border 
Patrol Chief Rodney Scott recently told this committee, and I 
quote, ``Chaos kills people, and we created a chaotic border 
situation''. Sadly, the numbers show that he is right. Migrants 
are also being abused and exploited to an unprecedented degree. 
Women and children are being sexually assaulted along the 
journey, while others who eventually make it to the United 
States are lured or coerced into sex slavery. According to the 
New York Post reports, brothels are operating in broad daylight 
in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where immigrants are reportedly 
coerced into prostitution.
    CBP has recorded a historic number of encounters of 
unaccompanied minors at the Southwest Border since Mayorkas 
took the helm. He announced he would release these children 
into the United States instead of sending them home to their 
families, around 400,000 since February 21. Talk about 
separating families, this Secretary has separated 400,000 
children from their families. Between DHS and the Department of 
Health and Human Services, hundreds of thousands of these kids 
have been released into the interior, often to individuals who 
have no business taking care of a minor. Tragically, many of 
these children have been placed into exploitative situations, 
often because the Biden administration has eliminated--
Mayorkas, eliminated--basic safety protocols from the vetting 
process. As one DHS official said back in 2021, and I quote, 
``This administration wants these families and kids released 
quickly. That is their No. 1 goal. So they are not going to do 
anything to slow that process down''. The Biden administration 
cares more about politics than ensuring minors are not 
exploited and abused. Make no mistake, they certainly have been 
to a horrific degree.
    Under Mayorkas' leadership they are reporting that they 
have lost track of 85,000 UACs after release. A Florida grand 
jury investigation into the handling of these minors found that 
in one case, 100 children were sent to the same address in 
Austin, Texas--100 kids. Other addresses 44, 25. These minors 
themselves are being pushed into servitude of all kinds, from 
select the sex trade to forced labor, as the New York Times, 
not known as a conservative bastion, by the way, reported 
extensively earlier this year.
    Our committee has been digging into this issue for months 
now, and let me tell you, when we publish our findings, the 
American people will be shocked and disgusted at how Secretary 
Mayorkas' policies have explicitly led to the mass trafficking, 
exploitation, and abuse of vulnerable minors. It is truly 
horrifying. I cannot understand why this President remains 
confident in a Secretary who has put so many American lives 
into the crosshairs of the cartels.
    Then there is the toll on law enforcement across this 
country. No professional group has been hit harder by Mayorkas' 
border crisis than Federal, State, and local law enforcement. 
Consider that Border Patrol suicides have reached a record 
high. Suicide is a complex and heavy topic. One that I take 
very seriously as a veteran who has been working hard against 
veteran suicide for decades. This committee will always address 
it with the utmost respect and never through the lens of 
politics. But as a former Border Patrol official and spouses 
have told us, the strain and demands placed on these agents by 
the on-going crisis have created an environment in which agents 
face untold trauma, anxiety, and depression. Those three words, 
trauma, anxiety, and depression were words used by the wife of 
a Border Patrol agent earlier this year when telling us, this 
committee, what agents experience today at the border, they 
deserve so much better.
    CBP officials have also increasingly been forced to conduct 
rescue operations to save those crossing illegally. This fiscal 
year alone, CBP has conducted more than 28,000 rescue 
operations, just to date. That is up from 5,297 in fiscal year 
2019, in fiscal year 2021 it was only 13,256, and in 2022, 
22,522. See a trend here? CBP is on track for more rescue 
operations this fiscal year than fiscal year 2011 to fiscal 
year 2020 combined. The more people flood across our border, 
the more Border Patrol agents and Air and Marine officers must 
put themselves at significant risk to save them, risking trauma 
and anxiety and depression.
    Let the record reflect the bravery and selflessness of 
Texas National Guard Specialist Bishop Evans, who died in April 
2022 after trying to save two individuals struggling in the Rio 
Grande River. Evans' valiant action saved their lives, but cost 
him his own in the process. It was later determined that the 
pair were involved in smuggling narcotics into the United 
States. Let us also not forget Marine Interdiction Agent 
Michael Maceda, who died in the line of duty last November 
while attempting to intercept a drug smuggling vessel off the 
coast of Puerto Rico. We do not deserve public servants like 
Bishop Evans and Agent Maceda, and they should both be alive 
today.
    Of course, let's talk about the crimes committed by illegal 
aliens in this country. The sanctuary cities that have welcomed 
vast numbers of illegal aliens into their communities have seen 
a crime spike like none other. In Chicago, one recent headline 
read ``No rule of law. City Council members decry criminal 
activity outside migrant shelters''. From New York comes 
another disturbing headline, ``Two men beaten by a group of 
disorderly migrants outside New York City shelter. One victim 
pushed through a glass window''. One illegal alien from 
Venezuela has been arrested 6 times for 14 crimes within just 2 
months of arriving to the Big Apple. In May, a 15-year-old girl 
in Alabama was raped in a restaurant bathroom by an illegal 
alien released into this country in November 2021 after giving 
Border Patrol agents a fake name. That same month, another 
illegal alien sexually assaulted a young woman at the point of 
a machete in Prince George's County, Maryland, not more than an 
hour up the road from here. Last year, 21-year-old Kayla 
Hamilton of Maryland was raped and murdered by an illegal alien 
who was also a member of MS-13, and just a couple of weeks ago, 
an illegal alien, released into the country in 2022 after 
crossing the Southwest Border, killed an 11-year-old boy in 
Ohio. A family in my own State who lost their own son to an 
illegal alien's reckless driving, has been working tirelessly 
ever since to shine a light on the crimes committed by those 
unlawfully present in this country.
    I specifically want to thank Wendy Cocoran and her family 
for their efforts to honor their son, Pierce, whose life was 
taken by an illegal alien. We need more patriots like Wendy who 
will do the work many local officials often can't or won't.
    These crimes are real. The tragedy and the trauma caused by 
these illegal aliens will last lifetimes.
    During our last hearing, some of our colleagues across the 
aisle said they were embarrassed that we were holding more 
hearings about the impact of this crisis on the American 
people. They claimed such oversight was a waste of time. I and 
the majority of the American people strongly disagree. In fact, 
numerous Democrats, State and local leaders, have had enough, 
like New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and I quote, ``We are 
facing an unprecedented state of emergency. We are past our 
breaking point. New Yorkers' compassion may be limitless, but 
our resources are not''. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, 
``There now exists in the Commonwealth a state of emergency due 
to rapid and unabating increases in the number of families with 
children and pregnant women, many of them new arriving migrants 
and refugees living with the State, but without the means to 
secure safe shelters in our communities''. Chicago Alderman 
Raymond Lopez, ``We know the buses keep coming in every day and 
we know that we have a thousand people in police stations right 
now with no clear plan for what to do and no way of paying for 
whatever's coming down the pipe''.
    Hearing the stories of Americans victimized by Mayorkas' 
open border is not a waste of time. Their lives are worth 
whatever energy we can exert to inform the American people of 
the travesty of this Secretary's failures to follow the laws 
passed by this Congress and uphold his oath to protect the 
American people.
    I hope we inform the President, and perhaps he fires 
Mayorkas or replaces him with someone who at least cares enough 
to understand the cartel strategy. Secretary Mayorkas actually 
admitted here he didn't know or recall. Holding him accountable 
for causing this humanitarian disaster is not a waste of time. 
Today, everyone on this committee has a choice, continue to 
ignore the horrific consequences of the border crisis or 
address the human tragedies caused by our wide open border that 
impact everyone in our districts. This shouldn't be a partisan 
issue. We must deal with the human costs of this terrible 
crisis and we must do so now.
    [The statement of Chairman Green follows:]
                    Statement of Chairman Mark Green
                           September 13, 2023
    When we talk about the crisis at our Southwest Border, it's easy to 
focus on the big picture: the Biden administration's open-borders 
policies, the chaos unfolding directly at the border itself, and the 
larger costs that this unprecedented wave of illegal immigration has 
imposed on our society.
    We tend to talk about record Border Patrol apprehensions--which, by 
the way, have risen from a temporary ``low'' of 100,000 in June to 
132,000 in July and a reported 177,000 in August, completely 
undermining claims that Mayorkas' new policies would somehow limit 
illegal crossings.
    All these things are worth focusing on, and that's why this 
committee is investigating the Biden administration's border crisis, 
particularly DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' dereliction of duty and 
his radical open-border policies.
    However, these larger discussions often overlook the devastating 
human toll this crisis has taken on individuals and families across the 
country.
    We've long said that this crisis has turned every State into a 
border State and every town into a border town. The consequences of the 
chaos at the Southwest Border have spread throughout our country, 
impacting all Americans.
    The men and women of our panel bear witness to this tragic reality.
    Before we hear their stories, I want to highlight a few of the ways 
in which Mayorkas' open-borders policies have exacted a terrible price 
on an untold number of innocent and vulnerable people--Americans AND 
migrants alike.
    Let's start with fentanyl. Phase 2 of this committee's 
investigation established that the Mexican cartels have taken 
unprecedented control of the Southwest Border and have used that 
control to push record amounts of fentanyl across the border and into 
our communities. Tens of thousands of Americans are dying from fentanyl 
poisoning, often without knowing they're consuming the drug in the 
first place--and DHS has said they think they're only catching 5-10 
percent of the fentanyl crossing our border.
    The CDC predicted in May that opioid overdose deaths, including 
those from fentanyl, increased in 2022 to nearly 83,000. The cartels 
are killing Americans, particularly young people, one poisoning at a 
time. Yet where is the outrage from the Biden administration? Where is 
the action?
    The cartels have exacted a heavy price from the very migrants they 
smuggle and traffic across the border, as well. At least 1,700 migrants 
have been found dead on U.S. soil under this administration's policies. 
CBP stopped publicly reporting the statistic after fiscal year 2021, 
but I am calling on them to report this figure once again, so the 
American people understand the human cost of this open border.
    Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott recently told this 
committee, ``Chaos kills people, and we created a chaotic border 
situation.'' Sadly, the numbers show that he's right.
    Migrants are also being abused and exploited to an unprecedented 
degree. Women and children are being sexually assaulted along the 
journey, while others who eventually make it to the United States are 
lured or coerced into sex slavery.
    According to a New York Post report, brothels are operating in 
broad daylight in Sunset Park [Brooklyn], where immigrants are 
reportedly coerced into prostitution.
    CBP has recorded a historic number of encounters of unaccompanied 
minors at the Southwest Border since Mayorkas took the helm. He 
announced he would release these children into the United States 
instead of sending them home to their families--around 400,000 since 
February 2021! Talk about separating families?
    This Secretary has separated 400,000 children from their families. 
Between DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services, hundreds 
of thousands of these kids have been released into the interior, often 
to individuals who have no business taking care of a minor.
    Tragically, many of these children have been placed into 
exploitative situations, often because the Biden administration has 
eliminated basic safety protocols from the vetting process. As one DHS 
official said back in 2021, ``This administration wants these families 
and kids released quickly. That is their No. 1 goal, so they are not 
going to do anything to slow that process down.''
    The Biden administration cares more about politics than ensuring 
minors are not exploited and abused. And make no mistake, they 
certainly have been--to a horrific degree.
    The Biden administration has reportedly lost track of more than 
85,000 UACs after release. A Florida grand jury investigation into the 
handling of these minors found that in one case, 100 children were sent 
to the same address in Austin, Texas. Other addresses in Texas received 
44 and 25 of these children!
    These minors themselves are being pushed into servitude of all 
kinds, from the sex trade to forced labor, as the New York Times 
reported extensively earlier this year.
    Our committee has been digging into this issue for months now, and 
let me tell you, when we publish our findings, the American people will 
be shocked and disgusted at how Secretary Mayorkas' policies have 
explicitly led to the mass trafficking, exploitation, and abuse of 
vulnerable minors. It is truly horrifying. I cannot understand why this 
President remains confident in a Secretary who has put so many American 
lives into the crosshairs of the cartels.
    Then there's the toll on law enforcement across this country. No 
professional group has been hit harder by Mayorkas' border crisis than 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement. Consider that Border Patrol 
suicides have reached record highs in the last several years.
    Suicide is a complex and heavy topic, and this committee will 
always address it with the utmost respect, never through the lens of 
politics.
    But as former Border Patrol officials and spouses have told us, the 
strain and demands placed on these agents by the on-going crisis have 
created an environment in which agents face untold trauma, anxiety, and 
depression. Those three words--trauma, anxiety, and depression--were 
words used by the wife of a Border Patrol agent earlier this year when 
telling us what agents experience today. They deserve so much better.
    CBP officials have also increasingly been forced to conduct rescue 
operations to save those crossing illegally. This fiscal year alone, 
CBP has conducted more than 28,000 rescue operations, up from just 
5,297 in fiscal year 2019. In fiscal year 2021, it was 13,256. In 
fiscal year 2022, it was 22,522. See a trend here?
    CBP is on track for more rescue operations this fiscal year than 
from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2020 COMBINED. The more people 
flood across our border, the more Border Patrol agents and Air & Marine 
officers must put themselves at significant risk to save them, risking 
trauma, anxiety, and depression.
    And let the record reflect the bravery and selflessness of Texas 
National Guard Specialist Bishop Evans, who died in April 2022 after 
trying to save two individuals struggling in the Rio Grande. Evans' 
valiant action saved their lives, but cost him his own in the process. 
It was later determined that the pair were involved in smuggling 
narcotics into the United States. Let us also not forget Marine 
Interdiction Agent, Michael Maceda who died in the line of duty last 
November while attempting to intercept a drug smuggling vessel off the 
coast of Puerto Rico. We do not deserve public servants like Bishop 
Evans and Agent Maceda and they should both be alive today.
    And, of course, let's talk about the crimes committed by illegal 
aliens in this country.
    The sanctuary cities that have welcomed vast numbers of illegal 
aliens into their communities have seen crime spike. In Chicago, one 
recent headline read, ``No rule of law: city council members decry 
criminal activity outside of migrant shelters.'' From New York comes 
another disturbing headline: ``Two men beaten by group of `disorderly' 
migrants outside NYC shelter--one victim pushed through glass door.'' 
One illegal alien from Venezuela has been arrested 6 times for 14 
crimes within just 2 months of arriving in the Big Apple.
    In May, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama was raped in a restaurant 
bathroom by an illegal alien released into this country in November 
2021 after giving Border Patrol agents a fake name.
    That same month, another illegal alien sexually assaulted a young 
woman at the point of a machete in Prince George's County, Maryland--
not an hour up the road from where we sit. Last year, twenty-year-old 
Kayla Hamilton of Maryland was raped and murdered by an illegal alien 
who was also a member of MS-13.
    And just a couple of weeks ago, an illegal alien released into the 
country in 2022 after crossing the Southwest Border killed an 11-year-
old boy in Ohio after crashing into the school bus carrying this young 
boy and other children on their first day of school.
    A family in my own State who lost their own son to an illegal 
alien's reckless driving has been working tirelessly ever since to 
shine a light on the crimes committed by those unlawfully present in 
this country. I specifically want to thank Wendy Corcoran and her 
family for their efforts in honor of their son, Pierce, whose life was 
taken by an illegal alien.
    We need more patriots like Wendy who will do the work many local 
officials often can't--or won't.
    These crimes are real. The tragedy and trauma caused by these 
illegal aliens will last lifetimes.
    During our last hearing, some of our colleagues across the aisle 
said they were ``embarrassed'' that we were holding more hearings about 
the impact of this crisis on the American people. They claimed such 
oversight was a ``waste of time.''
    I, and the majority of the American people, strongly disagree. In 
fact, numerous Democrat State and local leaders have had enough.
   New York City Mayor Eric Adams: ``[W]e are facing an 
        unprecedented state of emergency . . . [W]e are past our 
        breaking point. New Yorkers' compassion may be limitless, but 
        our resources are not.''
   Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey: ``[T]here now exists in 
        the Commonwealth a state of emergency due to rapid and 
        unabating increases in the number of families with children and 
        pregnant [women]--many of them new arriving migrants and 
        refugees--living with the State but without the means to secure 
        safe shelters in our communities.''
   Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez: ``We know the buses keep 
        coming in every day, and we know that we have a thousand people 
        in police stations right now with no clear plan for what to do 
        and no way of paying for whatever's coming down the pipe.''
    Hearing the stories of the Americans victimized by Biden and 
Mayorkas' open border is not a waste of time. Their lives are worth 
whatever energy we can exert to inform the American people of the 
travesty of this Secretary's failures to follow the laws and uphold his 
oath to protect the American people.
    I hope we inform the President and perhaps he will fire Mayorkas 
and replace him with someone who at least cares enough to understand 
the cartel's strategies. Secretary Mayorkas admitted he did not as you 
will recall. Holding this administration accountable for causing this 
humanitarian disaster is not a waste of time.
    Today, everyone on this committee has a choice: continue to ignore 
the horrific consequences of the border crisis, or address the human 
tragedies caused by our wide-open border that impact every one of our 
districts.
    This shouldn't be a partisan issue. We must deal with the human 
costs of this terrible crisis. And we must do so now.

    Chairman Green. I now recognize the Ranking Member, the 
gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, for his opening 
statement.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Good morning to everyone present.
    Mr. Chairman, if the title is any indication of this 
hearing, the Republican Majority is unfortunately engaging in 
partisan politics, again, with today's hearing. It didn't have 
to be this way.
    Throughout this committee's history, we have tried to work 
in a bipartisan manner to help combat human trafficking and 
ensure the Department of Homeland Security protects children 
and other vulnerable populations. Last Congress, when I served 
as Chairman, the committee worked to enact the Ranking Member 
John Katko's Countering Human Trafficking Act, which made DHS's 
Center for Countering Human Trafficking permanent. The Act also 
increased coordination between DHS's components and the Blue 
Campaign, a national public awareness effort designed to 
educate law enforcement and the public on recognizing the signs 
of human trafficking. I was proud to work with Ranking Member 
Katko on the bill and pleased that every subcommittee Chair and 
Ranking Member joined us as original co-sponsors. Committee 
Democrats and Republicans also worked together last Congress to 
pass Representative Donald Payne Jr.'s legislation, the 
Homeland Security for Children's Act. His legislation required 
DHS to include feedback from organizations that represent the 
needs of children in the Department's strategies, policies, and 
plans. I was pleased that President Biden signed into law that 
bill last year.
    These are just a couple of recent examples of the Committee 
on Homeland Security's long record of bipartisan cooperation on 
issues like these. Unfortunately, the current Republican 
Majority appears to be turning its back on bipartisan 
cooperation again. Republicans are trying to advance their 
illegitimate impeachment agenda, even as the Biden 
administration and Secretary Mayorkas work to implement orderly 
and humane border policies. Given the hearing's title, it is 
apparently lost on Republicans that it was actually the Trump 
administration's border policies that imposed devastating human 
costs, particularly on families and children. Under the Trump 
administration's unconscionable family separation policy, for 
example, over 5,500 children were taken from their parents at 
the border. These children suffered irreparable harm. Some have 
been reunited with their parents. This family was separated for 
years before being reunited by a Biden administration task 
force.
    Tragically, though, hundreds of separated children continue 
to pay the price for this Trump policy. They remain separated 
from their parents despite on-going reunification efforts still 
today. Not only did the Trump administration take children from 
their parents, it expelled unaccompanied children from other 
countries and forced people seeking refuge under our asylum 
laws to languish in dangerous conditions in Mexico, where many 
were victimized by cartels, smugglers, and criminals. Talk 
about the human cost of border policy, these were very real 
human costs, borne mostly by children, families, and the most 
vulnerable.
    How do Republicans respond when the Biden administration 
tries to right the wrongs of the past administration to protect 
kids or put policies in place to offer lawful pathways for 
families fleeing violence and persecution at home? Well, let's 
take a look at the Committee Republicans' social media for an 
indication. Just recently, we see them mocking the Biden's 
administration for hiring someone to work at DHS who actually 
has experience protecting the rights of children. Republicans 
also included in their border bill provisions to eliminate 
protections for children in DHS custody under the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act and the Flores Agreement. Unbelievable.
    We must never, ever return to the failed border and 
immigration policies of the last administration. As Americans, 
we are better than that, or at least we should be. While we 
won't agree on everything, there are places we can and should 
work together. Democrats want an orderly, humane border, we 
just want to do it in a way that upholds our values as 
Americans. We want to stop human trafficking, combat smugglers, 
and help those suffering from the scourge of opioid addiction. 
If Republican leadership would stop letting the most extreme 
MAGA wing of its party call the shots, maybe we could work 
toward getting that together. For the sake of our committee, 
this country, and American people, I hope so.
    Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]
             Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
                           September 13, 2023
    If the title is any indication, the Republican Majority is 
unfortunately engaging in partisan politics again with today's hearing. 
It didn't have to be this way.
    Throughout this committee's history, we have tried to work in a 
bipartisan manner to help combat human trafficking and ensure the 
Department of Homeland Security protects children and other vulnerable 
populations.
    Last Congress, when I served as Chairman, the committee worked to 
enact then-Ranking Member John Katko's Countering Human Trafficking 
Act, which made DHS's Center for Countering Human Trafficking 
permanent. The Act also increased coordination between DHS components 
and the Blue Campaign, a national public awareness effort designed to 
educate law enforcement and the public on recognizing the signs of 
human trafficking. I was proud to work with Ranking Member Katko on the 
bill and pleased that every subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member 
joined us as original cosponsors.
    Committee Democrats and Republicans also worked together last 
Congress to pass Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr.'s legislation, the Homeland 
Security for Children Act. His legislation requires DHS to include 
feedback from organizations that represent the needs of children in the 
Department's strategies, policies, and plans. I was pleased that 
President Biden signed it into law last year. These are just a couple 
recent examples of the Committee on Homeland Security's long record of 
bipartisan cooperation on issues like these.
    Unfortunately, the current Republican Majority appears to be 
turning its back on bipartisan cooperation again. Republicans are 
trying advance their illegitimate impeachment agenda, even as the Biden 
administration and Secretary Mayorkas work to implement orderly and 
humane border policies.
    Given the hearing title, it's apparently lost on Republicans that 
it was actually the Trump administration's border policies that imposed 
devastating human costs, particularly on families and children. Under 
the Trump administration's unconscionable family separation policy, for 
example, over 5,500 children were taken from their parents at the 
border. These children suffered irreparable harm. Some have been 
reunited with their parents. This family was separated for years before 
being reunited by a Biden administration task force.
    Tragically though, hundreds of separated children continue to pay 
the price for this Trump policy--they remain separated from their 
parents despite on-going reunification efforts still today. Not only 
did the Trump administration take children from their parents, it 
expelled unaccompanied children from our country and forced people 
seeking refuge under our asylum laws to languish in dangerous 
conditions in Mexico, where many were victimized by cartels, smugglers, 
and criminals.
    Talk about the human costs of border policy--these were very real 
human costs borne mostly by children, families, and the most 
vulnerable.
    And how do Republicans respond when the Biden administration tries 
to right the wrongs of the past administration? To protect kids or put 
policies in place to offer lawful pathways for families fleeing 
violence and persecution at home? Well, let's take a look at committee 
Republicans' social media for an indication.
    Just recently, we see them mocking the Biden administration for 
hiring someone to work at DHS who actually has experience protecting 
the rights of children. Republicans also included in their border bill 
provisions to eliminate protections for children in DHS custody under 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Flores agreement. 
Unbelievable.
    We must never, ever return to the failed border and immigration 
policies of the last administration. As Americans, we're better than 
that. Or at least we should be. While we won't agree on everything, 
there are places we can and should work together.
    Democrats want an orderly, humane border. We just want to do it in 
a way that upholds our values. We want to stop human trafficking, 
combat smugglers, and help those suffering from the scourge of opioid 
addiction.
    If Republican leadership would stop letting the most extreme MAGA 
wing of its party call the shots, maybe we could work toward that, 
together. For the sake of our committee, this Congress, and the 
American people, I hope so.

    Chairman Green. Thank you, Ranking Member.
    Other Members of the committee are reminded that opening 
statements may be submitted for the record.
    I am pleased to have a distinguished panel of witnesses 
before us today. I ask that our witnesses please rise and raise 
their right hand.
    Let the record reflect that the witnesses have answered in 
the affirmative. Thank you, and please be seated.
    I would now like to formally introduce our witnesses.
    Mr. Ballard, Mr. Tim Ballard. Mr. Ballard spent over a 
decade working as a special agent for the Department of 
Homeland Security, where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes 
Against Children Task Force as an undercover operative helping 
dismantle child trafficking rings in the United States and 
multiple foreign countries. In 2013, Tim and his team of 
special operatives left their careers and founded Operation 
Underground Railroad, the premier private organization in the 
world to take on child trafficking cartels, resulting in the 
rescue and rehabilitation of over 7,000 children and women. 
Their early efforts are seen, of course, in the movie Sound of 
Freedom. Tim is now senior advisor to the Spear Fund, a totally 
new approach that invites all anti-trafficking organizations 
and concerned people of the world to come together in unity to 
end human trafficking once and for all.
    Thank you, sir, for being here.
    Ms. Mayra Cantu. Ms. Cantu is the wife of a Border Patrol 
agent who has served his country for more than 15 years. They 
have spent around 10 years stationed in the Del Rio sector and 
are now in the Rio Grande Valley sector in Texas with their 
three beautiful children. She is active in her community and 
deeply involved with the Border Patrol spouses in supporting 
the efforts of our brave agents.
    Again, thank you for being here.
    Ms. Sandy Snodgrass. Ms. Snodgrass is a clinical 
psychologist who has been living in Alaska for over 50 years. 
Ms. Snodgrass has one child, Robert Bruce Snodgrass. Bruce was 
tragically poisoned by fentanyl and taken from us in Anchorage 
on October 26, 2021. After receiving the toxicology report 
confirming the poisoning, Ms. Snodgrass left her practice and 
began her advocacy work full-time. She has become a leading 
expert and advocate on behalf of victims, working with 
stakeholders in Alaska and around the country to stem the 
scourge of fentanyl that is wreaking havoc on the United 
States.
    Thank you for being here.
    Mr. Lee Gelernt. Did I pronounce that correctly, sir?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes, thank you.
    Chairman Green. OK. Good. He is an attorney at the ACLU's 
national office in New York. He is widely recognized as one of 
the country's leading public interest lawyers and has argued 
dozens of important civil rights cases during his career, 
including in the U.S. Supreme Court and many Federal Courts of 
Appeal throughout the country. He has also testified as a legal 
expert before both houses of Congress. In addition to his work 
at the ACLU, he is an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School.
    Thank you, sir, for being here.
    I thank all the witnesses, and I now recognize Mr. Ballard 
for 5 minutes to summarize his opening statement.

           STATEMENT OF TIM BALLARD, PRIVATE CITIZEN

    Mr. Ballard. Chairman Green, Ranking Member Thompson, and 
Members of the Homeland Security Committee, it's an honor to 
testify here today.
    I'd like to begin by showing you a powerful clip from the 
popular film Sound of Freedom.
    [Video playing]
    This scene depicts a moment from my real life I'll never 
forget. I was working for the Department of Homeland Security 
out of Calexico, California, and I can tell you first-hand that 
the only reason we were able to save this precious little boy 
was due to the fact that they had to take him across the border 
at a port of entry checkpoint because the border walls 
compelled them to do so.
    The horrors a child faces as a victim of human trafficking 
demand that we take action. A child can be sold up to 20 times 
a day, 6 days a week, for 10 years, or even longer, depending 
when the abuse began. Just in 2022 alone, immigration 
authorities encountered more than 152,000 unaccompanied minors 
at or near the U.S.-Mexico border, representing an all-time 
high.
    I believe every Member of this committee and people 
everywhere can agree that human trafficking is a plague and an 
evil that must be eradicated. Evidence of this can be seen in 
the response to the movie Sound of Freedom, based on my life 
story, which has been a surprise box office success and is 
sparking a national conversation on child sex slavery and 
trafficking, the fastest-growing criminal enterprise on the 
planet.
    The conclusions I offer in this testimony are based on my 
professional experience as an anti-trafficking operator. After 
starting my professional career with the CIA, I transferred to 
the Department of Homeland Security. At DHS I spent 12 years as 
a special agent and undercover operator for Homeland Security 
Investigations. After leaving the Federal Government, I have 
continued the fight against human trafficking, first as the 
founder and CEO of the organization Operation Underground 
Railroad, and now as a senior advisor to the SPEAR Fund, which 
is an organization that funds and collaborates with experts, 
organizations, and concerned citizens around the globe to fight 
and end human trafficking.
    Traffickers use our Southern Border to bring slaves into 
our country for the sex industry, because the United States is 
one of the highest consumers in child sex abuse material in the 
world. Our Federal agents who work at the Southern Border are 
women and men of the highest integrity and dedication. Yet 
despite the hard work and success agents on the ground, one 
thing has become vividly clear, poor U.S. border security and 
broken U.S. policy are feeding the growth of human trafficking 
in the United States.
    One way this is seen is the absence of physical barriers on 
our border. I have personally seen how ports of entry were 
responsible for helping rescue a child, catch a sexual 
predator, and start a chain of events that rescued multiple 
children from his abuse. On the other hand, I've spoken with 
survivors who were trafficked by cartels, taking advantage of 
the miles of unprotected U.S. border. In one case in 
particular, a young woman was brought across the border at an 
area where no barriers or protections existed. Once in the 
United States she was sold and raped for money up to 30 to 40 
times a day for 5 years before eventually escaping herself. She 
shared with me the tragic conclusion that had her captors been 
forced to attempt a crossing into our country at the port of 
entry, just like the little boy you saw in the film, that she 
would have had a better chance of being rescued. But the 
success we've seen in interdicting human trafficking at points 
of entry means nothing if our immigration policies allow 
traffickers to flaunt legal loopholes.
    Recently, Members of Congress sounded the alarm on 
information that the Government has lost track of 85,000 minors 
that crossed the border unaccompanied. The New York Times 
reported that the Department of Health and Human Services has 
lost contact with thousands of children who were released to 
sponsors and these children are now feared of being at risk of 
exploitation.
    Just in May alone U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
encountered an average of 435 unaccompanied minors per day. 
These children are prime targets for traffickers, for sex or 
labor. Tragically, as a result of this administration's current 
policies, DHS and HHS have unwittingly become a child 
trafficking delivery service. This must stop. We must begin 
with finding the 85,000 missing unaccompanied children, which 
this administration claims is not their problem anymore. 
Congressman Smith's Secure Act will help find them by holding 
HHS, DHS, and the FBI responsible for reporting on the status 
of the unaccounted-for children. The Secure Act will require 
these agencies to work together to locate them, assess their 
exposure to being trafficked, exploited, or abused, and to vet 
adults in their new homes for criminal activity. We pray all 
these kids will be found safe, but in my expert judgment, a 
significant number of them do not need to be merely found, but 
rescued from actual and active sexual abuse. Once we find these 
children and rescue those in need, we will be in a better 
position to reform the failed policies and processes that put 
them in the hands of abusers to begin with.
    Real freedom is not a phone number in the pocket of a child 
for an unknown sponsor or a dangerous trek across South and 
Central America. Real freedom is safety and protection from 
abuse and abusers for our most vulnerable population, our 
children, our future.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Ballard follows:]
                   Prepared Statement of Tim Ballard
                           September 13, 2023
    Chairman Green, Ranking Member Thompson, and Members of the 
Homeland Security Committee, it's an honor to testify here today.
    I would like to begin today by showing you a powerful clip from the 
popular movie ``SOUND OF FREEDOM''.
    This scene depicts a moment from my real life I'll never forget. I 
was working for the Department of Homeland Security out of Calexico, 
CA, and I can tell you first-hand that the only reason we were able to 
save this precious little boy was due to the fact that they had to take 
him across the border at a port of entry checkpoint.
    Despite what you may hear from some media sources, human 
trafficking is absolutely real, and--for the sake of innocent 
children--it must be dealt with urgently and immediately.
    The horrors a child faces as a victim of human trafficking demand 
that we take action. A child can be sold up to 20 times per day, 6 days 
a week for 10 years or even longer if they are trafficked as a toddler 
or infant.
    The topic of border security and the policies surrounding it have 
unfortunately become a type of political football that is used in the 
larger discussion of our Government's immigration policies. But the 
reality of what is happening at our Southern Border is not merely a 
policy debate, it is a humanitarian crisis with real victims.
    Just in 2022 alone immigration authorities encountered more than 
152,000 unaccompanied minors at or near the U.S.-Mexico border, 
representing an all-time high. As I will share with you today, many of 
those children will enter the United States and be put at risk of 
sexual exploitation by human traffickers.
    Regardless of ideology or party label, I believe every Member of 
this committee, and good people everywhere, can agree that human 
trafficking is a plague and an evil that must be eradicated.
    Evidence of this can be seen in the response to the movie ``SOUND 
OF FREEDOM''--based on my life story--which has been a surprise box 
office success and is sparking a national conversation on child sex 
slavery and trafficking, the fastest-growing criminal enterprise on 
earth.
    But the growing resolve amongst Americans is also seen in national 
polling, showing a majority of Americans support President Biden 
closing the Southern Border until the humanitarian crisis involving 
drug smuggling and human trafficking can be properly addressed.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Trafalgar Group Polling, Conducted April 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The American people, on all sides of the political aisle, are 
realizing that ending human trafficking in the United States is not 
part of a political debate, it is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis 
happening in our country, and on our watch.
    The conclusions I offer in this testimony are based on my 
professional experience as an anti-trafficking operator. After starting 
my professional career with the CIA, I transferred to the Department of 
Homeland Security. At the DHS, I spent 12 years as a special agent and 
undercover operator for Homeland Security Investigations. For 10 of 
those years, I was combating sex trafficking on the Southern Border and 
became one of the country's foremost experts on the issue of 
trafficking through years of undercover work, research, and 
investigation.
    After leaving the Federal Government, I have continued the fight 
against human trafficking. First, as the founder and CEO of the anti-
trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), and 
now as a senior advisor for the SPEAR Fund, an organization that funds 
and collaborates with a coalition of experts, organizations, and 
concerned citizens from around the globe to end human trafficking in 
our time.
    Through my experience as a Federal agent, CEO of O.U.R., and senior 
advisor for SPEAR Fund I have worked closely with the heads of every 
U.S. agency whose job it is to find and rescue children being 
trafficked across the Southern Border. These agencies under the 
jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security include Customs and 
Border Protection, Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs, and Homeland 
Security Investigations.
    Our Federal agents who work at the Southern Border are women and 
men of the highest integrity and dedication. Their efforts protect us 
daily from the myriad of different dangers found coming into our 
country. Our agents exist to protect, not to judge, not to 
discriminate, and not to carry out a political motive. They follow the 
laws they have sworn to uphold and they deserve a debt of gratitude 
from each of us as they help keep us safe.
    When I last had the honor to testify before Congress I shared how 
traffickers use our Southern Border to bring slaves into our country 
for the sex industry because the United States is one of the highest 
consumers of child sex abuse content in the world.\2\ The United States 
is also one of the wealthiest nations in the world, creating fertile 
ground for child traffickers who are trying to get their product to 
this lucrative illicit market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ THORN.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Through my decade on the border as a human trafficking expert for 
the Federal Government, I participated in dozens of cases and 
operations that uncovered human trafficking rings and discovered human 
smuggling processes across the border. We were fortunate to rescue many 
victims and I'm proud that we put so many criminals behind bars.
    But despite the success of agents on the ground, one thing has 
become vividly clear: poor U.S. border security and broken U.S. policy 
are feeding the growth of human trafficking in the United States, and 
empowering international criminal cartels both inside and outside of 
our borders.
    One way this is seen is the absence of physical barriers on our 
border. While the topic of a border wall has become hotly contested 
here in Washington, DC and in the media, the reality is that requiring 
people to enter our country at actual ports of entry is very effective 
in combating human trafficking. It can mean the difference between 
freedom or sexual captivity for a child.
    As you saw in the clip from the movie, I have personally seen how 
ports of entry were responsible for helping rescue a child, catch a 
sexual predator, and start a chain of events that rescued multiple 
children from his abuse.
    On the other hand, I've had heartbreaking conversations with 
survivors who were trafficked by cartels taking advantage of the miles 
of unprotected U.S. border. In one case in particular a young woman was 
brought across the border at an area where no barriers or protections 
existed. Her captors brought her to New York City where she was sold 
and raped for money up to 30-40 times a day for 5 years before 
eventually escaping.
    She shared with me the tragic conclusion that had her captors been 
forced to attempt crossing into our country at a port of entry she 
would have had a better chance of being rescued, as opposed to the hell 
on earth she endured before her escape.
    At our points of entry, trained law enforcement officials have the 
ability to look into the eyes of traffickers and victims. They have 
technology, training, and instinct on their side to identify victims 
and hopefully rescue them.
    But the success we've seen in interdicting human traffickers at 
points of entry means nothing if our immigration policies allow 
traffickers to flaunt legal loopholes.
    Recently, Members of Congress sounded the alarm on information that 
the Government has lost track of 85,000 minors that crossed the border 
unaccompanied,\3\ and The New York Times reported that the Department 
of Health and Human Services has lost contact with thousands of 
children who were released to ``sponsors'', and are now feared to be at 
risk for exploitation.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Newsweek, Jul. 14, 2023.
    \4\ New York Times, Apr. 17, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered an average 
of 435 unaccompanied minors per day,\5\ while in June of this year 
alone, the Biden administration released 344 kids to non-related adults 
in the United States \6\--most of whom already had multiple children in 
their care. These children are prime targets for traffickers--for sex 
or labor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ U.S. CBP May Operational Update, Jun. 20, 2023.
    \6\ NBC News, Jun. 6, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To fight the human trafficking battle most effectively, we must put 
aside politics. Oftentimes politicians and the media try to make border 
enforcement and pro-migration positions mutually exclusive. That does 
not need to be the case. Our country can have a robust and welcoming 
policy about immigration, but it must be in a way that's legal and 
doesn't leave loopholes for criminals to hurt children and sentence 
them to a life of horror.
    Ending human trafficking in the United States would create huge 
progress in ending human trafficking across the globe. One of the first 
steps in accomplishing that is securing our border and fixing our 
immigration policies. As we have seen from the reaction to the movie 
``SOUND OF FREEDOM'' and polling, the American people from all 
political ideologies are ready to tackle this scourge.
    I ask that this administration and its agencies show the same 
resolve, put politics aside, and immediately take the action needed to 
begin securing our border and ending the horrible policies that are 
only serving to put innocent children at risk.
    We have seen the success that is possible when our Nation acts with 
a unified spirit against evil people and evil ideologies, and by God's 
grace that same spirit can bring an end to human trafficking.

    Chairman Green. Thank you.
    Ms. Cantu, you are recognized.

       STATEMENT OF MAYRA HINOJOSA CANTU, PRIVATE CITIZEN

    Ms. Cantu. Good morning, Chairman Green and distinguished 
Members of the committee. I am honored to be here, and I thank 
you for inviting me.
    I am Mayra Cantu, a Border Patrol wife for over 15 years. 
My husband and I have been married for over 21 years, and we 
have three amazing kids, Dylan, Lex, and Devyn. My husband was 
first stationed on Eagle Pass, Texas for 10 years. He is 
currently stationed in the Rio Grande Valley. Today, I speak 
with the experience and knowledge of a Border Patrol wife. 
Given this opportunity, I'd like to speak on a topic that is 
rarely asked about.
    Rarely does the current administration ask about the 19,000 
American souls and their families whom have also been affected 
by the shift in policies and procedures that have drastically 
and tragically changed our country. These American-serving 
patriots I speak of is our very own United States Border Patrol 
agents. This includes the spouses and children of these agents, 
all whom are voting Americans from both sides of the aisle. We 
are your constituents. Please take this moment to understand 
that we are understand what we are facing every day with this 
huge influx of illegal immigration.
    Day 1 of this administration, our agents went to work 
knowing they were outnumbered. Huge caravans of illegal 
immigrants were aggressively pushing their way into our agents' 
paths. Our agents knew our stations would hit max capacity 
instantly. Knowing they didn't have enough vehicles or 
facilities to stop these caravans, our agents, including my 
husband, felt defeated. As the days went by with these extreme 
changes, I noticed my husband's mood began to change. He became 
more distant, kept to himself, and would spend his day 
sleeping. As things got worse on the border, so did my husband. 
My husband began to talk about work in his sleep, but the 
sounds he would make hardly sounded like words. They were 
screams of terror. One night, as he tossed and began to mumble 
some words, he all of a sudden screamed out, la nina, la nina. 
Screaming as if this little girl's life was in danger. I was so 
terrified at the volume and tone, I froze. I then realized my 
husband was reliving the trauma of work in his sleep. I know 
the job is stressful, but I had no idea how bad things would 
get.
    Imagine this, a child who has just been through a horrible 
traumatizing journey, may have possibly been raped or tortured 
by bad people, has now gained the trust of a Border Patrol 
agent. The child decides to vent to this agent and pours out 
every emotion he or she has been holding back. Now this child 
looks up at this agent for comfort, for answers. What could 
this agent possibly tell this child? Our agents are fathers, 
mothers, brothers, sisters. They are real humans with human 
emotions, emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, sympathy, 
and every emotion you or I would feel if we heard those 
stories. To that, I asked Mr. Mayorkas, what has been done to 
assist our agents to handle these situations? What is the 
protocol? This Border Patrol wife is asking, what was the plan 
for our agents who would be hearing these stories from the 
millions of illegal immigrants you knew were crossing?
    We all knew for months in advance that the caravans of 
family units were coming, we all knew that the journey was 
going to be like for those women and children. You knew our 
agents were going to be the first in line to handle these 
traumatized individuals. What was the plan for them? Did you 
consider the long-term effects of an agent's mental and 
spiritual health from listening to the horrific tragedies from 
the millions of illegal immigrants that would be crossing? What 
are you doing now, 2\1/2\ years later?
    As a wife allow me to describe what happens. Our agents 
with boots on the ground carry those stories with them, they 
carry the names and faces of those children, women, and even 
those good men that may have had a family member get swept into 
the river. These stories come up throughout their day, as they 
themselves try to live their normal life. It fills our thoughts 
daily to the point where normal life situations are no longer 
as relevant as those tragic stories. This creates a challenge 
for a family as a whole. Us wives end up having to take over 
every situation at home. Distance grows between a husband and a 
wife. This creates many more arguments, frustrations, 
resentments. Our children, unfortunately, get sidelined. How 
could a failing grade ever come close to what our agents go 
through at work? This creates distance between our agents and 
our children. The burden of not being able to help or fix the 
problems at work becomes so overwhelming, it consumes an 
agent's mind to the point where he lashes out in anger.
    This creates even more problems in a happy home. Without an 
agent even realizing it, problems at home end up being greater 
than he or she imagined. In many cases, an agent turns to 
alcohol, solitude, and all of a sudden, we end up with a 
potential divorce topped with depression. Just like that, our 
Border Patrol agents end up with a high suicide rate.
    Let's not forget to mention the stress of forced 
vaccinations by this administration, vax or get fired.
    This man-made perfect storm is what has our agency with 
higher numbers in substance abuse, divorce rate, and suicide 
rate. Us Border Patrol wives don't need to look up statistics 
to check or check the news to know. We know, because we live 
the Border Patrol life.
    My greatest fear is allowing Government to disregard our 
Border Patrol agents as they once disregarded our military. 
Let's not repeat history.
    God bless all of you, our country, and may God bless our 
Border Patrol.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Cantu to follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Mayra Hinojosa Cantu
                             Sept. 13, 2023
    Good morning, Chairman Mark Green and distinguished Members of the 
committee.
    I am honored and humbled to be here with all of you. I thank you 
for inviting me and for taking an interest in my testimony.
    I am Mayra Cantu and I am a Border Patrol wife. My husband has been 
serving our country for over 15 years. We have been married for 21 
years and have 3 amazing kids. Dylan, Lex, and Devyn. Once my husband 
joined the Border Patrol, he got stationed in Eagle Pass, Texas. We 
were then living in the Rio Grande Valley also known as the Tip of 
Texas. So we moved our little family from Edinburg, Texas to Eagle 
Pass, Texas, leaving both of our families behind. Being moved from the 
area you live in is very common in the Border Patrol. We spent 10 years 
in Eagle Pass, Texas where my husband served on the ground unit, ATV 
Unit, and the Boat Unit. After 10 years we were able to transfer back 
home to the Rio Grande Valley where my husband is currently stationed.
    Today I speak with the experiences and knowledge of a Border Patrol 
wife. A wife, that through God's grace has been given the opportunity 
to speak on a topic that never gets asked about. No one ever asks about 
the over 19,000 American souls and their families that have also been 
affected by the shift in policies and procedures that have drastically 
and tragically changed our country, as of January 2021.
    The over 19,000 American, voting, serving souls I speak of are our 
very own United States Border Patrol Agents and us, the spouses and 
children of these agents. Our men and women in green are those who are 
not only our first line of defense but also, our actual boots on the 
ground, on the riverbanks of the Rio Grande River, our checkpoints, and 
all American borders in our country.
    Us Border Patrol families are not just patriotic Americans, we are 
voting Americans, of both sides of the aisle. We are your constituents. 
With that being said, I ask that everyone please take a moment to truly 
understand what these 19,000 souls and us, the families, are facing 
every day with this huge influx of immigration, along with the shift in 
policies and procedures.
    January 2021 was the day everything changed for us Border Patrol 
families. On that day our men and women in green went into work knowing 
that they were outnumbered. They knew our Border Patrol stations would 
be at max capacity, they knew we did not have enough facilities, enough 
vehicles, they knew they were defeated.
    Respectfully I say, imagine that on your first day of work with the 
new boss. In my opinion, Day 1 was a significant hit to our agents. Day 
1 was realizing the fact that they were not going to catch, stop, or 
prevent these huge caravans of people aggressively pushing their way 
into the paths of our agents. You see in an outsider's perspective, you 
see a caravan as a large group of people entering our country. For us 
Border Patrol families, we see caravans as the people my husband will 
come across face-to-face. I remember having plenty of conversations 
with my husband, as a concerned wife, was always filled with questions 
like, ``What are you going to do? What is the plan? What does work say? 
What can be done?''
    In 2008, my kids and I drove to Artesia, New Mexico, to attend the 
Border Patrol graduation ceremony for my husband. It is an experience I 
will always remember. As an attendee, I was filled with such 
patriotism. I was so proud of my country at how honorable the Border 
Patrol was presenting each graduating class. They all marched and 
presented their class flag with such pride. They all stood together 
looking so sharp, as they recited their oath to protect you, me, and 
our entire country with vigilance, service, and integrity.
    That badge, that oath means something to our agents . . . but these 
past 2\1/2\ years our agents feel as if their hands have been tied 
behind their backs, unable to do their job as they were taught. Leaving 
them with the human emotion of frustration and let-down creating an 
overall sense of low morale throughout the patrol.
    As the days went by with these extreme changes, I noticed my 
husband's mood began to change. He became more distant, kept to 
himself, and would spend his days sleeping during the day. I figured it 
was work and he was potentially taking longer to decompress. As things 
got worse on the border, so did my husband. My husband began to talk 
about work in his sleep. But the sounds he would make hardly sounded 
like words, they were screams of terror, so loud I had to close our 
bedroom door so that he wouldn't wake up our kids. One night as he 
tossed and began to mumble some words, he all of a sudden screamed out 
``LA NINA! LA NINA!?!'' Was so terrified, I froze. I then realized my 
husband was reliving the trauma of work in his sleep.
    I know the job is stressful, but I had no idea how bad things had 
gotten. I would sit with my husband and ask him every day how he was 
doing at work. I knew this would help him snap out of work mode to be 
able to continue his regular family life routine. I learned that my 
husband was manning Tent City on a daily basis. At this point we could 
hear in the news how so many stations were at max capacity due to the 
caravans of family units. This meant that our agents, including my 
husband, had to interview unaccompanied juveniles.
    As an agent these stories come with the job. The difference now is 
the amount of stories our agents hear on a daily basis was and is off 
the charts. If you can imagine, a child who has just been through such 
a horrible, traumatizing journey, may have possibly seen a family 
member drown, or them being abused or tortured by bad people, has now 
gained the trust of a Border Patrol agent handing the child a snack . . 
. The child decides to vent and release every emotion he or she has 
been holding back because of fear . . . to this agent and is now 
looking up at this agent for comfort. For answers.
    With 800 other illegal immigrants in that tent city, this agent 
knows hundreds are already being bussed over . . . What could this 
agent possibly tell this child in that short time? Our agents are 
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, they are real humans with human 
emotions . . . emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, sympathy, and 
every emotion you or I would feel if we heard those stories.
    To that I ask Mr. Mayorkas, what has been done to assist our agents 
to handle these situations? What is the protocol? What are the proper 
procedures for our agents when confronted with these situations?
    We all knew for months in advance that the caravans of family units 
were coming. We all knew what the journey was going to be for those 
women and children. You knew our agents were going to be the first in 
line to handle these traumatized individuals. What was the plan for 
them? This Border Patrol wife is asking what was the plan for our 
agents who would be hearing these stories from the millions of illegal 
immigrants you knew were crossing?
    Did you consider the long-term effects on an agent's mental and 
spiritual health from listening to the horrific tragedies from the 
millions of illegal immigrants that would be crossing? What are you 
doing now, 2\1/2\ years later?
    As a wife allow me to describe what happens. Our agents with boots 
on the ground carry those stories with them. They carry the names and 
faces of those children, women, and even those good men that may have 
had a family member get swept under the river. Their stories come up 
through out their day as they themselves try to live their normal life. 
It fills their thoughts daily to the point where normal life situations 
are no longer as relevant as those tragic stories they hear at work. 
This creates a challenge for a family as a whole. Us wives end up 
having to take over every situation at home. Distance grows between a 
husband and a wife. This creates many more arguments, frustrations, 
resentments. Our children unfortunately get sidelined. How could a 
failing grade ever come close to what our agents go through at work? 
This creates distance between our agents and our children. The burden 
of not being able to help or fix the problems at work become so 
overwhelming it consumes an agent's mind to the point where he lashes 
out in anger, short-tempered. This creates even more problems in a 
happy home. Without an agent even realizing it, problems at home end up 
being greater than he or she imagined. In many cases an agent turns to 
alcohol. Solitude. Nightmares. And all of a sudden we end up with 
undiagnosed PTSD. Our worst-case scenario is a potential divorce, 
topped with depression . . . and just like that our Border Patrol 
agents end up with a high suicide rate.
    How can this happen you ask? Well, lets not forget to mention the 
stress of forced vaccination. Our agents were being told that they had 
to get vaccinated or get fired.
    This man-made perfect storm is what has our agency with higher 
numbers in substance abuse, divorce rate, and suicide rate.
    As for me, I don't need to look up statistics or check the news to 
know. I know because I live the Border Patrol life. Our Green line 
represents family, united in faith.
    Distinguished Members of Congress, we must make a change. Our 
country deserves better. Your constituents deserve better.
    My greatest fear is allowing Government to disregard our Border 
Patrol agents as they did once to our military.
    Thank you and may God bless all of you, our country and may God 
bless our Border Patrol.

    Chairman Green. Thank you.
    Ms. Snodgrass, you are recognized.

STATEMENT OF SANDY SNODGRASS, FOUNDER, ALASKA FENTANYL RESPONSE

    Ms. Snodgrass. Good morning I'd like to thank Chairman 
Green and Ranking Member Thompson for the opportunity to 
address this committee today.
    I'd like to begin my testimony with a moment of silence to 
honor the memory of American citizens who have lost their lives 
to illicit drug poisonings, particularly recognizing citizens 
that will die today during the course of this hearing.
    [Moment of silence.]
    Ms. Snodgrass. My only child, Robert Bruce Snodgrass, 
became forever 22 on October 26, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. He 
was poisoned by fentanyl on that cold October day in a wooded 
area within shouting distance of a McDonald's drive-through. 
The fentanyl that he got that day prevented him from being able 
to call out for help. He dropped and died where he stood.
    Bruce loved Alaska. He was an outdoorsman, he was a free 
solo climber, he was a wilderness survival expert. He was safe 
in the back country of Alaska. He was not safe in his own 
hometown. The year that Bruce died, Alaska was No. 1 in the 
Nation for increased illicit drug death. The 73 percent 
increase was fueled by fentanyl.
    In the first 6 months of 2023, enough fentanyl was seized 
in Alaska to kill every Alaskan three times. Alaska is being 
targeted by drug cartels due to the money that they can make in 
my State, particularly in rural, predominantly Alaska Native 
communities. One pill in an Alaskan village can cost $80. That 
same pill sold in a large American city, costs $10.
    So what to do?
    I'm hopeful that this committee will focus on solutions 
today. I'll offer five solutions to consider today and moving 
forward.
    First, designate Mexican drug cartels and their 
transnational criminal partners as terrorist organizations. 
This will bring the full weight of the U.S. Government to bear 
down on the perpetrators that have killed and continue to kill 
Americans on our sovereign soil. Immediately, as Members of the 
U.S. House of Representatives, you can co-sponsor and support 
the passage of House Bill H.R. 1564.
    Second, this committee can fully support the Department of 
Homeland Security's non-invasive technology to significantly 
increase the number of passenger and commercial vehicles 
scanned at the Southern Border.
    Third, the Postal Inspection Service has created a 
standardized Nation-wide task force officer, TFO program. TFOs 
are armed with non-invasive scanners and are embedded with 
postal inspectors, often as part of the High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area, HIDTA, initiatives and task forces. They act 
as critical force multipliers, and this committee can update 
the funding sources and advance the investigations and 
interdictions of the TFO programs around the country.
    Fourth, HIDTA programs in all 50 States are a model of how 
to dramatically impact the contaminated drug supply in this 
country. HIDTA initiatives create task forces, including 
Tribal, local, State, and Federal law enforcements, including 
Homeland Security forces, to very effectively investigate, 
interdict, and prosecute drug-trafficking organizations, DTOs, 
in all 50 States. I've witnessed HIDTA's effectiveness in 
Alaska, and I'm asking this committee to support HIDTA.
    Fifth, Congressman Trone has introduced a bipartisan House 
Bill 2867, known as Bruce's Law, named for my son. Bruce's Law 
will establish an awareness campaign related to the lethality 
of fentanyl and fentanyl-contaminated drugs; it will provide 
community-based enhancement grants to mitigate the effects of 
drug use, particularly focused on school-aged children. I 
cannot urge committee Members strongly enough to co-sponsor 
Bruce's Law and support its rapid passage. Time is not on our 
side.
    Finally, I'd like to again thank Chairman Green and Ranking 
Member Thompson for the opportunity to address this committee.
    Chairman, I wish you Godspeed in your work here today and 
the days moving forward.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Snodgrass follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of Sandy Snodgrass
                             Sept. 13, 2023
    Good morning, I would like to thank you Chairman Green and Ranking 
Member Thompson for the opportunity to address the committee today.
    I would like to begin my testimony with a moment of silence to 
honour the memory of American citizens who have lost their lives to 
illicit drug poisonings. Particularly recognising American citizens 
that will die today during the course of this hearing.
    My only child, Robert Bruce Snodgrass, became forever 22 on October 
26, 2021, in Anchorage, Alaska. He was poisoned by fentanyl on the cold 
October day in a wooded area within shouting distance of a McDonalds 
drive-through. The fentanyl he got that day prevented him from being 
able to call out for help. He dropped and died where he stood.
    Bruce loved Alaska, he was an outdoorsman, a free solo climber and 
wilderness survival expert. He was safe in the backcountry of Alaska. 
He was not safe in his own home town.
    The year Bruce died Alaska was No. 1 in the Nation for increased 
illicit drug deaths. The 73 percent increase was fueled by fentanyl.
    In the first 6 months of 2023 enough fentanyl was seized in Alaska 
to kill every Alaskan 3 times. Alaska is being targeted by drug cartels 
due to the money they can make in my State, particularly in rural, 
predominantly Alaska Native Communities. One pill in an Alaskan Village 
can cost $80. That same pill is sold in large American cities for $10.
    So, what to do?
    I am hopeful that this committee will focus on solutions today. I 
will offer 5 solutions for your consideration today and moving forward.
    First, designate Mexican drug cartels and their transnational 
criminal partners as terrorist organisations. This will bring the full 
weight of the U.S. Government to bear down on the perpetrators that 
have killed and are continuing to kill Americans on our sovereign soil. 
Immediately, as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives you can 
co-sponsor and support the swift passage of House Bill HR. 1564.
    Second, this committee can fully support The Department of Homeland 
Security's non-intrusive technology to significantly increase the 
number of passenger and commercial vehicles scanned at the Southern 
Border.
    Third, The Postal Inspection Service has created a standardized 
nationwide Task Force Officer (TFO) Program. TFO's are armed with non-
invasive scanners and are imbedded with Postal Inspectors. Often part 
of High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Forces. They act 
as critical force multipliers and this committee can update the funding 
resources to advance the investigations and interdictions of TFO 
Programs around the country.
    Fourth, The HIDTA Programs in all 50 States are a model of how to 
dramatically impact the contaminated drug supply in this country. HIDTA 
initiatives create task forces including Tribal, local, State, and 
Federal law enforcement, including Homeland Security Forces, to very 
effectively investigate, interdict, and prosecute Drug Trafficking 
Organisations (DTO's) in all 50 States. I have witnessed HIDTA's 
effectiveness in Alaska and I am asking that this committee fully 
support HIDTA.
    Fifth, Congressman Trone has introduced the bi-partisan House Bill 
H.R. 2867, known as Bruce's Law, named for my son. Bruce's Law will 
establish an Awareness Campaign related to the lethality of fentanyl 
and fentanyl-contaminated drugs. It will provide community-based 
enhancement grants to mitigate the effects of drug use, particularly 
focused on school-aged children. I cannot urge the Members of this 
committee strongly enough to co-sponsor Bruce's Law and support its 
rapid passage. TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE.
    Finally, I would again like to thank Chairman Green and Ranking 
Member Thompson for the opportunity to address this committee. 
Chairman, I wish you and this committee God Speed in you work here 
today and in the days ahead.

    Thank you.
 [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]   

    Chairman Green. Thank you, Ms. Snodgrass.
    I now recognize Mr. Gelernt for 5 minutes to summarize his 
opening statement.

  STATEMENT OF LEE GELERNT, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ACLU IMMIGRANTS' 
         RIGHTS PROJECT, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

    Mr. Gelernt. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, Mr. 
Chairman, Ranking Member Thompson, and the Members of the full 
committee.
    Our written submission discusses recent immigration 
policies that have caused incredible harm to migrants, 
including the Trump administration's family separation policy 
and asylum bans enacted by both the Trump administration and 
the Biden administration. This morning, I want to focus in 
particular on the family separation policy that ripped apart 
asylum-seeking parents and children and only ended because of 
the ACLU's Ms. L lawsuit.
    The family separation policy is the worst thing I have seen 
in my more than 30 years at the ACLU, and unfortunately, the 
harm from this policy remains on-going 5 years later. Yet there 
are still some who believe the policy should be reenacted. The 
ACLU is committed to ensuring that the full extent of this on-
going harm is understood and not forgotten, so that such an 
abhorrent policy is never again adopted.
    As we came to learn, the goal of the family separation 
policy was to subject families to such cruelty that they would 
give up their asylum claims and to deter other asylum-seeking 
families from seeking refuge here. It stands out today as one 
of the worst episodes in our Nation's recent history. We now 
know that there were at least 5,500 children who were separated 
from their parents and there are likely more cases that we 
still don't know about. Of those 5,500 children, more than 500 
were under the age of 5 when taken from their families, some 
were just babies still breastfeeding, one was only 6 months 
old. Five years later, there remain hundreds of children who 
still have not been reunited with their parents because of the 
failure to document and keep track of the parents and children. 
Many of these still-separated children have now spent nearly 
their entire life without their parents.
    Physicians for Human Rights has stated that the forcible 
separation of families constituted torture. The president of 
the Academy of Pediatrics referred to the family separation 
policy as, ``government-sanctioned child abuse''.
    But it is ultimately the individual stories that most 
starkly reveal the cruelty. One mother we represented was 
forced to strap her 18-month-old son into the backseat of a 
Border Patrol vehicle and not allowed to comfort the hysterical 
child before Federal officers took her child away. The mother 
recounted that as the car drove away with her baby, she could 
see him craning his neck to get one last look at her out the 
window. Another separated child was a 4-year-old little boy who 
wore glasses. When agents came to take him away, he fortunately 
had his glasses with him, but was not able to retrieve the case 
for his glasses. His mother worried constantly, every day, 
whether the Government would show him where he could keep his 
glasses safe at night or whether they would get him a new pair 
if they broke. Another father reported that he was denied even 
a few minutes to brace his son for what was about to happen. 
Instead, his child was pulled away while holding his father's 
leg and begging to know what was happening and where he was 
being taken. Mothers and fathers were often not even told where 
their children had been taken or given the chance to say 
goodbye, left only to wave to them through a glass window as 
they were led away. Ms. L, the lead plaintiff in the ACLU's 
lawsuit, only learned that her 6-year-old daughter was being 
taken away because she heard her scream from the next room, 
mommy, don't let them take me.
    The trauma hasn't ended even for those families who have 
been reunited. One mother told us that her 4-year-old son 
continued to ask if he would be taken away again in the middle 
of the night when he went to sleep. Another 3-year-old boy we 
represented would stand by the window after he was reunited, 
looking to see if people were coming to take him away again.
    It is not just the children who suffered. The parents have 
also understandably been traumatized as it destroyed their 
relationship with their children. Many children were too young 
to understand that their parents could not stop what was 
happening. They would stare into their parents eyes as they 
were screaming not to be taken away, watching as their parents 
just stared back helplessly. When the children were finally 
reunited, they would ask their parents why they didn't fight 
for them or why they didn't love them enough to keep them. When 
I was in El Salvador to meet with our clients, I met a father 
who broke down crying when he recounted that the very first 
thing his 8-year-old child said to him when he was finally 
returned was, Pappy, why did you let them take me? We all have 
an obligation to make sure that this shameful chapter in our 
history is never repeated.
    Thank you for allowing the ACLU to testify today.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Gelernt follows:]
                   Prepared Statement of Lee Gelernt
                           September 13, 2023
    The American Civil Liberties Union (``ACLU'') thanks the U.S. House 
Committee on Homeland Security for the opportunity to submit this 
statement for the committee's hearing on the human cost of Federal 
border policies.
    The ACLU is a nonpartisan public interest organization with 4 
million members and supporters, and 53 affiliates nationwide--all 
dedicated to protecting the principles of freedom and equality set 
forth in the Constitution. The ACLU has a long history of defending 
civil liberties, including immigrants' rights. The ACLU vigorously 
defends the Constitutional right of due process for both citizens and 
immigrants, advocates for policies that protect these rights.
    The ACLU represents families that were forcibly separated at the 
Southern U.S. border through the Ms. L case and continues to work to 
ensure that the Federal Government identifies and reunifies thousands 
of migrant families. We are also one of the organizations challenging 
the current asylum ban. We have participated in other litigation over 
the years concerning the civil liberties of immigrants, and we 
routinely advocate in Congress and State legislatures for policies that 
promote due process and protections for immigrants.
    Our testimony today focuses on recent policies, adopted by the 
Trump and Biden administrations, that have caused incredible suffering 
and harm to migrants.
                      the family separation policy
    The family separation policy enacted by the Trump administration 
ripped apart asylum-seeking parents and children and only ended because 
of the ACLU's Ms. L lawsuit. The family separation policy is the most 
draconian, cruel immigration policy I have seen in my more than 30 
years litigating at the ACLU. Unfortunately, the harm from this policy 
remains on-going 5 years later. Yet there are still some who believe 
the policy should be reenacted. The ACLU is committed to ensuring that 
the full extent of this on-going harm is understood and not forgotten, 
so that such an abhorrent policy is never again adopted.
    In 2017, the ACLU learned of reports that young children arriving 
at the Southern Border with their families in search of protection, 
were being ripped away from their parents. In the coming months, the 
public learned that this was not just an accident or an exceptional 
mistake; rather, the Federal Government had adopted a deliberate policy 
of taking children from the parents, a policy that came to be known as 
the ``Zero Tolerance'' policy. The goal of this policy was to subject 
families to such cruelty that they would give up their asylum claims 
and to deter other asylum-seeking families from seeking refuge here. It 
stands out today as one of the worst episodes in our Nation's recent 
history.
    In March 2018, the ACLU filed a national class action in Federal 
court in San Diego (the Ms. L case) to stop this despicable practice. 
At the time, still months before the Federal Government officially 
announced it had an official ``zero tolerance'' family separation 
policy,\1\ we were already aware of several hundred separated families. 
Three months later, when the court struck down the policy as 
unconstitutional, calling it brutal, the Government reported to the 
court and the ACLU that there were about 2,700 families who had been 
separated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See. e.g., Jonathan Blitzer, ``A Mother, Separated From Her 
Children at the Border, Comes Home,'' The New Yorker, May 5, 2021, 
https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-immigration/a-mother-
separated-from-her-children-at-the-border-comes-home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Yet astoundingly, there were thousands more families who had been 
separated, which only came to light months after the initial court 
ruling. We know that there were at least 5,500 children who were 
separated from their parents, and there are likely more cases that we 
still don't know about. Of those 5,500 children, more than 500 were 
under age 5 when taken away from their families. Some were just babies, 
still breast feeding; the youngest was only 6 months old.
    Five years later, there remain hundreds of children who still have 
not been reunited with their parents because of the Government's 
failure to document and keep track of the parents and children.\2\ Many 
of these still-separated children were only babies or toddlers when 
taken from their parents and have spent nearly their entire life 
without their parents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ See PBS News Hour, ``Hundreds of migrant children remain 
separated from families despite push to reunite them,'' Feb. 6, 2023, 
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/hundreds-of-migrant-children-remain-
separated-from-families-despite-push-to-reunite-them; Philip Bump, The 
Washington Post, ``Hundreds of immigrant families split apart under 
Trump remain separated,'' Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2023, https://
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/13/trump-immigrants-children-
border/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Physicians for Human Rights has stated the forcible separation of 
families by the U.S. Government constituted torture.\3\ There is an 
``overwhelming body of scientific literature'' that is ``replete with 
evidence of the irreparable harm and trauma to children caused by 
separation from their parents.''\4\ The president of the American 
Academy of Pediatrics referred to the U.S. Government's family 
separation policy as ``government-sanctioned child abuse.''\5\ The 
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has warned that 
family separation ``places already vulnerable children at increased 
risk for traumatic stress reactions, psychiatric disorders, and other 
adverse medical outcomes'' and can have lifelong effects on children, 
particularly those who have already fled violence or conflict.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Physicians for Human Rights, ``You Will Never See Your Child 
Again'': The Persistent Psychological Effects of Family Separation 
(2020), available at https://phr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PHR-
Report-2020-Family Separation-Full-Report.pdf.
    \4\ Declaration of Lauren Shapiro, Exhibit 6, Ms. L.
    \5\ CNN, ``Doctor: Family separation is child abuse,'' June 18, 
2018, https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/06/18/colleen-kraft-american-
academy-of-pediatrics-family-separation-child-abuse-ath.cnn; Justin 
Wise, The Hill, ``American Academy of Pediatrics president: Trump 
family separation policy is `child abuse','' June 18, 2018, https://
thehill.com/latino/392790-american-academy-of-pediatrics-president-
trumps-family-separation-policy-is-child/.
    \6\ American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Statement, 
Separating Immigrant Children From Their Families, June 2018, https://
www.aacap.org/AACAP/Policy_Statements/2018/
Separating_Immigrant_Children_From_Their_Families.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These aggregate statistics and medical evidence tell the story in 
one respect but cannot begin to account for the lasting damage, trauma, 
and hardship that this policy has caused to these children and their 
parents. The individual stories most starkly reveal the cruelty.
    One of the separated mothers we represented was forced to strap her 
18-month-old son into the back seat of a Border Patrol vehicle and not 
allowed to comfort the hysterical child before Federal officers took 
her child away. The mother recounted that as the car drove away with 
her baby, she could see him craning his neck to get one last look at 
her glimpse of her out the window.
    Another separated child was a 4-year-old little boy who wore 
glasses. When immigration agents came to take him away, he fortunately 
had his glasses with him, but was not able to retrieve the case for his 
glasses. His mother worried every day whether the Government would show 
him where he could keep his glasses safe at night or whether they would 
get him a new pair if they broke.
    Another father reported that he was denied even a few minutes to 
brace his son for what was about to happen. Instead, his child was 
pulled away while holding his father's leg and begging to know what was 
happening and where he was being taken. Mothers and fathers were often 
not even told where their children had been taken or given the chance 
even to say goodbye, left only to wave to them through a glass window 
as they were led away. Ms. L, the lead plaintiff in the ACLU's lawsuit, 
only learned that her 6-year-old daughter was being taken away because 
she heard her scream from the next room, ``Mommy, don't let them take 
me.''
    The fear, trauma, and suffering hasn't ended even for those 
families who have been reunited. Another mother told us that even after 
being reunited with her 4-year-old son, he continued to ask if he would 
be taken away again in the middle night when he went to sleep. Another 
3-year-old boy would stand by the window after he was finally reunited, 
looking to see if people were coming to take him away again. These 
children may remain traumatized the rest of their lives.
    But it is not just the children who suffered. The parents have also 
understandably been traumatized by this policy, as it destroyed their 
relationship with their children. Many of the children were too young 
to understand that their parents could not stop what was happening. 
They would stare into their parents' eyes as they were screaming not to 
be taken away, watching as their parents just stared back helplessly. 
When the children were finally reunited, they would ask their parents 
why they didn't fight for them and why didn't they love them enough to 
keep them. When I was in El Salvador to meet with our clients, I met a 
father who broke down crying when he recounted that the very first 
thing his 8-year-old child said to him when he was finally reunited was 
``Papi, why do you let them take me?''
    The trauma these families and young children experienced will have 
a lasting impact on their lives and is a stain on our Nation. Going 
forward, we must commit to ensuring that our Government never returns 
to such a heinous policy of harming children and their families. We all 
have an obligation to make sure that this shameful chapter in our 
history is never repeated.
                              asylum bans
    Although the family separation policy has ended for now, Federal 
and State agencies continue to use abusive and unnecessary tactics to 
stop asylum-seeking children and others from getting protection in the 
United States. Right now, children and their families arriving at our 
Southern Border continue to face myriad challenges and abuses when they 
try to seek protection.
    The current Biden administration asylum ban, which the ACLU and 
partners are challenging in Federal court, has left many families 
stranded in life-threatening conditions along the border while they 
wait for a rare CBP appointment and opportunity to request help at a 
port of entry. Since this new asylum ban went into effect in May, it 
has already threatened the lives of many children and their parents 
trying to apply for asylum in the United States. Asylum-seeking 
parents, forced to wait in Mexico for a rare CBPOne appointment, have 
had to sleep in encampments with cable wires tied around their children 
to ensure their children are not abducted, abused, and potentially 
trafficked in the middle of the night.\7\ While waiting in these life-
threatening conditions where migrant families are an easy and 
predictable target, women have been raped and whole families have been 
kidnapped, even tortured.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ Human Rights First, Refugee Protection Travesty: Biden Asylum 
Ban Endangers and Punishes At-Risk Asylum Seekers (2023), https://
humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Refugee-Protection-
Travesty_Asylum-Ban-Report_July-2023-1.pdf.
    \8\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We also know from past asylum bans that restricting access to 
asylum leads to horrific harms. In Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, the ACLU 
and partners' case challenging the exclusion of asylum seekers under 
the infamous Title 42 policy enacted by the Trump administration and 
retained by the Biden administration, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. 
Circuit observed that asylum seekers faced horrible abuses when turned 
back to places where they faced torture or persecution. Judge Walker, 
writing for the Court, observed that for families who were turned back 
to Mexico without an opportunity to apply for asylum, ``the record is 
replete with stomach-churning evidence of death, torture, and rape.'' 
Indeed, the Court noted that for those forced to walk back across the 
bridge back to Mexico, it was as if they were ``forced to walk the 
plank into those places.''\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, 27 F.4th at 733 D.C. Cir. 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It is not only criminal gangs that are threatening the safety and 
well-being of these families. This summer when the State of Texas put 
razor-wire-wrapped buoys in the Rio Grande, over 130 migrants were 
reportedly injured and needed medical treatment because of this callous 
attempt to stop asylum seekers from out of the United States.\10\ Among 
those injured were children stuck on the wire-wrapped buoys and a young 
pregnant woman who miscarried while caught in the wire.\11\ According 
to news reports and information from a whistleblower, Texas troopers 
were ordered to refuse water to migrants and push even young children 
back into the river,\12\ and in recent weeks, it has also emerged that 
fathers were separated from the rest of the families without being 
given information on where their children and partners were.\13\ These 
intentional and dangerous acts are a continuation of our Government's 
harsh and harmful treatment of children and their parents who seek 
safety at our borders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ Benjamin Wermund, ``Texas Troopers Treated 133 Migrants for 
Injustices From Razor Wire Over Two Months This Summer,'' The Houston 
Chronicle, Aug. 30, 2023, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/
texas/article/border-wire-injuries-18336354.php.
    \11\ Benjamin Wermund, ``Texas troopers told to push children into 
Rio Grande, deny water to migrants,'' The Houston Chronicle, July 17, 
2023, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-
trooper-migrants-wire-18205076.php; see generally, Benjamin Wermund & 
Jeremy Wallace, ``Razor wire along the Rio Grande is blocking border 
agents from reaching at risk migrants,'' The Houston Chronicle, July 
11, 2023, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/
texas-border-razor-wire-memo-18193102.php; John C. Moritz, Michael 
Collins, & Francesca Chambers, ``Two found dead in Rio Grande where 
Texas' floating barrier and razor wire sparked Federal lawsuit'' USA 
Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/03/two-
dead-in-rio-grande-where-texas-installed-razor-wire-and-buoys/
70522492007/; Peter Breen, ``3 takeaways from DPS trooper's email about 
the state of the Texas border,'' The Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2023, 
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/
border-injury-death-razor-wire-trooper-email-18206609.php.
    \12\ Benjamin Wermund, ``Texas troopers told to push children into 
Rio Grande, deny water to migrants,'' The Houston Chronicle, July 17, 
2023, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-
trooper-migrants-wire-18205076.php.
    \13\ Acacia Coronado, ``Texas separates migrant families, detaining 
fathers on trespassing charges in latest border move'' Associated 
Press, Aug. 4, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-
family-separation-a652cafdfd5270b097d0ebcc034796b8; Brittany Gaddy, 
``Texas Department of Public Safety separating several fathers from 
families seeking asylum, immigration attorney says,'' ABCNews, Aug. 4, 
2023, https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-department-public-safety-
separating-fathers-families-seeking/story?id=101969972; Rosa Flores & 
Sara Weisfeldt, ``Texas is separating families at the border in 
apparent `harsh and cruel' shift in policy, immigration attorney 
says,'' CNN, Aug. 2, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/texas-
border-policy-separating-families/index.html.
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    Our border policy has for too long put children, their parents, and 
other asylum seekers and migrants in danger when they come to the 
United States seeking protection. We must ensure that our country does 
not shrink from its long and rightly celebrated commitment to providing 
an opportunity for those in danger to seek protection.

    Chairman Green. Thank you, sir, for your testimony.
    Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their 
5 minutes of questioning. An additional round of questioning 
may be called after the Members have been recognized.
    I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Ballard, you are a former HSI investigator who has 
investigated human trafficking, correct?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes.
    Chairman Green. Are the catch-and-release policies of 
Secretary Mayorkas facilitating the trafficking of people and 
children?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely. What's happening is these children 
are being brought in----
    Chairman Green. Let me--if I could.
    Mr. Ballard. Sure.
    Chairman Green. So the answer to that question is yes?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes.
    Chairman Green. OK. So worded another way, there are cases 
of human trafficking and sex trafficking of minors that are 
occurring that would not be occurring if these policies were 
not in place?
    Mr. Ballard. That's correct.
    Chairman Green. We have made it clear--in fact, the 
Attorney General, Attorney Merrick Garland, appointed by 
President Biden, admitted in the U.S. Senate that the cartels 
are using the catch-and-release policy strategically to 
overwhelm the Border Patrol agents and bypass them with drugs 
and trafficked humans. Do you believe Secretary Mayorkas knows 
there are human trafficking cases happening because of his 
policies?
    Mr. Ballard. I do believe he knows that.
    Chairman Green. So you believe he knows that what Attorney 
General Garland admitted to the Senate? He knows that is 
happening?
    Mr. Ballard. I don't know how he couldn't know.
    Chairman Green. So is it fair to say that the policies of 
the United States Government--and I am reiterating here--the 
policies of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas' leadership 
encourage and facilitate mass human and child trafficking?
    Mr. Ballard. I would say yes.
    Chairman Green. Mr. Gelernt, again, I have a question for 
you, sir.
    You mentioned earlier in your testimony that it was both 
Trump and Biden policies.
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes.
    Chairman Green. I think I heard you say that. Is the ACLU--
and the policies I am thinking of, are they removed the 
background checks on the people who would be the sponsors, and 
this is how we are getting 100 kids in one home and all this 
because nobody's doing any vetting on this. Is the ACLU suing 
the Biden administration like it sued the Trump administration?
    Mr. Gelernt. We are suing the Biden administration over 
various policies. We are not suing over that. We obviously are 
concerned if steps were not taken to vet. But I think----
    Chairman Green. Do you think you might sue the Biden 
administration? I mean, it is 85,000 kids and you sued over 
5,500 under the Trump administration and were brought here to 
talk about policies that are going on right now, but you are 
talking about policies that happened long ago or in the 
previous administration. We are here investigating what is 
going on right now. You were brought here as the other side's 
witness, right, and you talked about that, but are you all 
going to sue the Biden administration over the 85,000 missing 
children because of these policies?
    Mr. Gelernt. Well, sir, I think we always will sue 
whichever administration is in place. But I think on those 
children, we don't know that they were missing. I suspect that 
their sponsors often don't answer calls from the Government. I 
think the way to deal with it----
    Chairman Green. Let me ask it this way.
    Mr. Gelernt. So I don't know that they're missing.
    Chairman Green. I appreciate that. So we find that 100 went 
to one home--100. Do you think that is reasonable?
    Mr. Gelernt. We certainly don't want to see child 
exploitation. I don't know enough about the specific facts. 
But----
    Chairman Green. That is fair.
    Mr. Gelernt [continuing]. To the extent that steps can be 
taken to stop child exploitation, we certainly want those steps 
to be taken.
    Chairman Green. That is fair. Well, we will be watching to 
see, because I think if you really do take on both parties' 
administrations, this one would be a good one for you guys to 
look into because they removed the background checks from the 
sponsors of these children. We find in Austin, Texas, where 20 
and 30 and the New York Times found where kids were being 
forced labor--in our country.
    Mr. Ballard, I interrupted you earlier. I think you were 
going to talk a little bit about how the policies are 
facilitating human trafficking and I would like to give you the 
rest of my time to do so.
    Mr. Ballard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    It's very disturbing to me because I know how the United 
States does deal with children. For example--how they should 
and how they have. I adopted two children from Haiti that we 
had rescued in an operation in February 2014. I went through a 
major vetting process. I rescued the kids and I had to be 
vetted. I was happy to be vetted. Home studies, background 
checks, fingerprints over and over and over again. I was 
grateful that the U.S. Government did this. The same would 
happen to a missing child or an unaccompanied child that showed 
up by himself or herself in New York City or Washington, DC. 
They would be treated like the precious children of God that 
they are.
    My question for the administration would be, why don't you 
treat these foreign children the same way? Why would you let 
them come in with no vetting, very little to no vetting. It's 
not that the number----
    Chairman Green. To be clear, we are talking about the 
vetting of the sponsor who takes those children, right?
    Mr. Ballard. Correct. It's more difficult to adopt a cat 
from a shelter in the United States than it is to go down and 
take one of these children out of the custody of HHS and claim 
that I'm the sponsor. There's no background checks. There's no 
fingerprinting. Why would you afford a foreign child much less 
protection than you would an American child? I think it's 
despicable, frankly.
    Chairman Green. Thank you. My time has expired.
    I now recognize the Ranking Member for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Let me thank the witnesses for their testimony.
    Ms. Cantu, I would like to acknowledge that I share your 
concern about the mental health challenges of officers and 
agents on the front lines at DHS. In fact, I introduced H.R. 
2577 with Mr. Garbarino to enhance the wellness for this 
critical segment of the DHS work force. It passed out of this 
committee on a bipartisan basis in July. I look forward to the 
full House's consideration in coming days and I would look 
forward to the Chairman giving me some help on the Republican 
side so that the issue you outlined before our committee that 
we can add to the challenges that our employees face and their 
families from a health and wellness standpoint.
    So that was just--I heard you--and one of the reasons Mr. 
Garbarino and I did the bill together, it made sense and has 
nothing to do with party. It is about our brave men and women 
who serve this country, and that is why we did it.
    Apart from that, Mr. Gelernt, family separation is bad, and 
I think it talks about our values as American citizens. Can you 
give me some of the examples that you came across in 
challenging this policy?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes. I think in addition to some of the 
examples I gave this morning, what we came across are just 
children who were so young and so traumatized and had no idea 
what was happening to them. They would literally be pulled away 
from their parents, begging and screaming not to be taken and 
the parents were helpless, standing there watching. What the 
physicians told us was that the only reason a 3-, 4-, 5-year-
old child is not scared of the world as a general matter is 
because they think their parents can protect them from 
everything. But what happened to these children is they would 
be staring in their parents eyes as they were taken away. At 
that moment, they would realize their parents actually can't 
protect them from the world. It's forever changed their lives 
in many, many cases, where the children now have a deep-seated 
trauma and feeling of vulnerability, like the children I 
mentioned that are worried about being taken away again in the 
middle of the night. Many of the parents were too scared even 
to ask where their child was being taken. Parents told me, 
well, if I ask where my child's going to be taken, maybe 
they're going to treat my child even worse. Sometimes the 
parent wouldn't be told for months where their child was, 
sometimes they wouldn't be able to talk to the child for 
months. If the child was pre-verbal, they would just be staring 
into a camera, not knowing and seeing their child crying. I 
think what many physicians have said now is that we may never 
undo the trauma we caused these children.
    Mr. Thompson. Well, I might--can get back to you.
    Ms. Snodgrass, obviously, I am a father, a grandfather, and 
I just can't imagine losing either one of my children or 
grandchildren. So I know I speak for the rest of the committee 
in the loss of your son. It is absolutely traumatic. But I can 
tell you that a lot of us have supported the non-intrusive 
technology. Every time it has come up, we have passed 
legislation to do it. I promise you that if it comes again, and 
it will, in this session and I want some of my other colleagues 
to support it too. It passed, but it was not on a bipartisan 
basis. I want us to do what is right for the country.
    For our men and women on the Border Patrol, we need to 
enhance the numbers. We are trying to get more people, and we 
are doing that, but it needs to be a bipartisan effort. So I 
look forward to working with my colleagues on the Republican 
side to provide the help necessary to address many of the 
problems that we have outlined here today.
    With that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Higgins for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I would like unanimous consent to offering it to the record 
a report produced on September the 6 of this year by DHS 
Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.
    Chairman Green. Without objection, so ordered.*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * The information has been retained in committee files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I will be citing from that report during my questioning.
    Mr. Ballard, do you know Inspector General Cuffari?
    Mr. Ballard. I do not.
    Mr. Higgins. You can have the honor of meeting him soon if 
I can arrange that. He is a wonderful man. He is dedicated to 
his job. His job as the Inspector General of DHS is to 
investigate potential criminal behaviors and unconstitutional 
behaviors from within DHS. Our Southern Border, 1,954 miles of 
our Southern Border--I have walked every foot of it--is 100 
percent controlled by cartels on the Mexican side of that 
border. Under this administration--you all can believe whatever 
numbers you want--the number I am about to tell you is real, we 
have had 9 million illegal crossings, 6 million are documented, 
million-and-a-half known getaways, million-and-a-half unknown 
gotaways. It is 9 million from when I went to grade school, 
that is what it adds up to. So the DHS that is executing the 
policies of this Biden administration is directly responsible 
for this rodeo we see at our Southern Border, from sea to 
shining sea. Our Southern Borders--what we used to call a large 
gathering of unidentified subjects in various stages of 
disagreement and argument and fight when I was a cop for a long 
time, when we would roll up on a situation that looked like 
that would just tell dispatch I got a rodeo over here. All the 
other cops on the radio would know we were talking about. We 
have a rodeo from the Pacific to the Gulf at our Southern 
Border. DHS, under Secretary Mayorkas is responsible for that. 
The human misery and suffering and death, and 85,000 lost 
children, and our own Southern Border, now rated as the most 
dangerous land crossing border in the world by a highly-
recognized immigrant international organization. It is insane.
    So the guy that is responsible for investigating that is 
Joseph Cuffari. He has produced this report a few days ago, and 
it is quite condemning of the Biden administration. So what do 
you think the Biden administration would do with an IG like 
that, Mr. Ballard, in your experience?
    Mr. Ballard. What do I think they'll do with his report?
    Mr. Higgins. No, what do you think they would do with the 
man that produced this report?
    Mr. Ballard. Well, I hope they would treat him fairly and 
listen to his findings, because I can--I haven't read the 
report, but I can imagine----
    Mr. Higgins. Hope springs eternal, does it not? This is the 
Biden administration we are dealing with. They are going after 
that man in his whole office. So I am telling the Executive 
right now, you are watching this, we are not going to allow you 
to crucify the inspector general that is revealing the horrors 
of your policy--85,000 lost children.
    Mr. Gelernt, are you an attorney, sir?
    Mr. Gelernt. I am.
    Mr. Higgins. You know, when I was a cop, we had a common 
saying, a bit of a chuckle, we would say that I have known many 
convicts I can trust in my life and very few attorneys.
    You are here representing the ACLU, sir? Do you speak on 
behalf of the ACLU this day?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes.
    Mr. Higgins. Are you here voluntarily?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes.
    Mr. Higgins. Are you here with counsel or are you by 
yourself?
    Mr. Gelernt. I'm by myself.
    Mr. Higgins. Congratulations. These 85,000 missing 
children, what is your opinion about that? How does the ACLU 
and you feel about 85,000 missing children? Think their civil 
rights might be being violated?
    Mr. Gelernt. Our view is that those children are not likely 
missing, that the sponsors don't simply answer the phone.
    Mr. Higgins. Yes, the sponsors are not real. You know that, 
right? It is a racket. It is a sponsor racket. That is why they 
are not answering the phone. That is why you can't find who 
they are. The vast large percentage of these sponsors--these 
kids are getting sucked into sex trafficking, primarily, human 
slavery. The policies of this administration are supporting 
that. We are partnering with the cartels with human 
trafficking. By God, I would hope--there are many attorneys in 
my family. I was the one that ended up to be the Army grunt and 
the street cop. But I would hope that the ACLU would take a 
serious look at exactly what kind of cases the ACLU is taking 
up. I have a couple of questions for you I am going to submit 
for the record afterwards.
    But, Mr. Ballard, in my remaining few seconds, can you 
assess from your perspective exactly what Congress should do to 
help our agents at the Southern Border?
    Mr. Ballard. First, we need to go find those 85,000 
children, and we need to start enforcing the laws that Congress 
put upon the Executive branch, which is to enforce the border. 
That's the most compassionate and it's the only compassionate 
policy for children is to suck the wind out of the cells of the 
criminal networks making $14 million a day trafficking women 
and children into our country. You end it by enforcing the 
border policies.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Chairman, my time has expired. I appreciate the 
indulgence. I yield.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Correa for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the 
committee for holding this most important hearing today. Very 
important.
    Mr. Ballard. Ms. Cantu, Ms. Snodgrass. Mr. Gelernt, thank 
you for your testimony.
    Mr. Ballard, I have had the opportunity to visit a safe 
house in Tijuana, Mexico, where minors were rescued from sex 
slavery south of the border. Met an 18-year-old baby girl 
rescued from a prostitution house just south of the border. 
Horrific stuff. Recently, I visited the Orange County Juvenile 
Hall. The No. 1 reason young ladies were in jail, child 
prostitution. So your testimony regarding our Nation's appetite 
for child sex is disgusting. True, but disgusting.
    Thank you for your testimony, sir.
    Ms. Cantu, does your husband wear a blue or a green 
uniform?
    Ms. Cantu. Thank you for that question.
    I hear often the colors get confused. Our Border Patrol 
agents wear green. We wave our green line flags.
    Mr. Higgins. So he wears a green uniform?
    Ms. Cantu. Correct. Customs is blue.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you for your service. I have been out 
there spending time with folks in green and blue to better 
understand their challenges. So thank him on my behalf for his 
work.
    Ms. Snodgrass, I am also a father. I pray every day that my 
children stay away from this poison because it is ravaging the 
streets back home as well.
    Mr. Gelernt, if I am--did I say that----
    Mr. Gelernt. That's fine. Gelernt.
    Mr. Higgins. Gelernt. Refugees. We talk about south of the 
border, but I think this is a world-wide issue. Mean, I turn on 
the TV, I see boats flipping over in the Mediterranean, 
refugees trying to move from subcontinent to the European area. 
I think this is a world-wide challenge here in the Americas. I 
know Colombia is housing--now it is up to 3 million Venezuelan 
refugees. I just returned from Guatemala, where that Guatemalan 
president had a few words for us, saying we need help 
addressing the refugee crisis. This is a world-wide phenomena 
that was made even worse by COVID-19, that has devastated the 
economies around the world. I hope all of us as Americans, can 
begin to address that issue, because nobody, especially the 
refugees, are not doing well from this challenge.
    Recently, one of my trips to the Texas border, I ran across 
two little girls from Ecuador, Yareli and Yasmina, ages 3 and 
5. Here, as you can see, is where they were rescued. This is 
the two girls that were thrown over the border wall, 14-foot 
wall. They were launched over by the smugglers. The only reason 
they are still alive, Ms. Cantu, is because green uniformed 
border officers were able to spot them out in the middle of 
nowhere and bring them to safety in the middle of the night. So 
thank your husband again for the good work they are doing. 
People forget about their humanitarian heart, but the good work 
they are doing. But this is a border wall that they were able 
to essentially be thrown over.
    I guess, Mr. Gelernt, what is driving these folks north? 
What would make you essentially turn over your most precious 
things you have in your life, which is your children, to 
unknown smugglers to smuggle them into United States?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes, thank you for that question.
    I think what's driving them is not U.S. policy, but the 
real danger and horrendous conditions.
    Mr. Higgins. This is a world-wide issue.
    Mr. Gelernt. Right. The only way--I think--you know, when I 
was in Guatemala, I met a father and I asked him why he sent 
his teenage son to the United States and he said, well, the 
beginning of the school year, the gang slipped something under 
his door saying, we know all your children, we know where they 
go to school, we know the routes they take, and if they don't 
join the gang, they're going to be killed. So he said to me it 
was the hardest decision he had ever had to make, but there's 
just too much danger. I think that's what's pushing people. 
Nobody really wants to make the trek to the United States if 
they don't have to, thousands of miles with a little child. So 
that's what's pushing them to come here. I hope that we can 
continue to have a humane, appropriate, lawful asylum system.
    Mr. Higgins. If I can, I am going to interrupt you because 
I am running out of time, before the Chairman cuts me off. I 
don't want to minimize the fact that we have a challenge in 
immigration, a refugee challenge on our Southern Border in this 
country, and we need to focus on that. But I think we also have 
to understand the context, which is a world-wide phenomena. I 
am working--look forward to working with the folks across the 
aisle to figure this one out. Real lives are at stake here, and 
so is our Nation.
    Thank you very much.
    I yield, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Guest for his 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Guest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Ballard, my wife and I several weeks ago had the 
opportunity to see the movie based upon your life, your 
experience, the Sound of Freedom. I want you to know it was a 
powerful movie, a movie that left us with a powerful line, a 
rallying cry, if you will, that God's children are not for 
sale. But we know, as we say those words we know that human 
trafficking is real. Your movie or the movie about your life 
depicted the realness of that. We know that there are 
statistics that show us that the average age of exploitation is 
12 to 15 years of age, that each year the number of cases in 
the United States involving sex trafficking increases. We know 
that sex trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise 
in the entire world. We know that every 30 seconds a child is 
sold into slavery. Those are staggering statistics concerning 
the problem that we are trying to deal with.
    I want to talk a little bit about some of the things that 
you have in your report briefly.
    You talk about the fact that a child can be sold up to 20 
times per day, 6 days a week, for a decade or longer, depending 
upon the age of the child. We know that individuals who are 
selling narcotics, that those narcotics can be sold a single 
time, but a child can be sold time and time and time again. You 
also talk about in your report polling, which I think is 
important to Members of Congress that talk about the opinion of 
the American public. What does the American public think on a 
specific issue? You say that the American public realizes that 
ending human trafficking is important, that it is an 
unprecedented human crisis, and that Americans support closing 
the Southern Border. You also talk a little bit about the fact 
that in the United States, that we are the highest consumer of 
sex abuse content in the world, that we are the demand for this 
growing criminal enterprise. Then you tell a story about a 
young lady that you were involved with and helped rescue in New 
York City, that she had been sold and raped 30 to 40 times a 
day for 5 years, and eventually she escaped from her captors. 
You talk about the fact that when she came into the country 
that she came not through a port of entry, but she came through 
an unsecured part of our Southern Border. Then you go to make 
what I think is a conclusion here that we have poor U.S. Border 
security, that we have a broken U.S. policy, and that we are 
feeding the growth of human trafficking. You go on to talk 
about the absence of a physical border and that is contributing 
to this problem.
    The clip that you showed in your opening statement showed a 
very powerful part of that movie where you were able to rescue 
this young child as his captor was bringing him into the United 
States for the purpose of entering him into the sex trafficking 
industry. Then you go on and you finally conclude requiring 
people to enter our border at actual ports of entry is very 
effective in combating human trafficking.
    So briefly, Mr. Ballard, can you talk a little bit about 
the importance of requiring individuals to enter ports of 
entry, about the screening that can be done, about the number 
of cases of human trafficking that could be stopped if we would 
just physically secure our border and require individuals, all 
individuals, who are entering the country, to come through 
ports of entry?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes. Thank you, Congressman. Speaking of the 
men and women wearing the blue uniforms, that's where they are. 
They are at those ports of entry. They are experts, they have 
technology, they know what to look for. If a child has their 
last hope to be rescued before entering into the belly of what 
is the highest-consuming nation on the planet of child rape 
videos, their last hope will be to reach out to one of those 
heroes in a blue uniform, help me. They will. I've watched them 
do it. I've been part of it. So we need border enforcement 
because it compels the movement to that final point of possible 
rescue. Why would we not want that? Why would we not want every 
child to have the last hope of rescue before entering into the 
great United States and disappear maybe forever? So that's why.
    What's interesting is it's never been partisan. I was under 
two different administrations, Bush and Obama, and we kept 
building the wall and building enforcement. Everyone liked it 
because it saved children. It wasn't partisan. How it became 
partisan is something that you can--because I need--I don't 
understand. It should never have been. It rescues children, 
period.
    Mr. Guest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Payne for his 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Gelernt, we know there are still families that are 
separated because of President Trump's zero tolerance policy. 
Why has it been so difficult to reunite families after being 
separated by the Trump administration? Is it in part because of 
the last administration's failure to keep appropriate records 
of these children and families that this has been made so 
difficult? You know, they collected them all up and rounded 
them all up and put them in the cages and then why has it been 
so difficult?
    Mr. Gelernt. That's exactly right, Congressman. What the 
Federal judge who ruled on the family separation policy and 
called it brutal and unconstitutional said was that it appears 
that the Federal Government kept track of property better than 
it kept track of children. So what we learned was that many, 
many parents, hundreds, more than a thousand, had been deported 
without their children. When we said the Trump administration 
needs to look for these families and reunite them, they 
refused. So we, along with partner organizations, said that we 
will try and find these families. But because there were no 
records, it has been painstaking. We are still looking for many 
families. It has required phone calls, mailings, posters, but 
also just actual detective work on the ground by a group called 
Justice in Motion, as well as other groups, and we are still 
looking for families. Because the records were not there, it 
has been just an unbelievable task that we hope that all these 
families are ultimately reunited. We won't stop till they are. 
But some of these children were taken away when they were 
babies or toddlers and----
    Mr. Payne. Right.
    Mr. Gelernt [continuing]. So now they've lived almost their 
entire lives without their parents.
    Mr. Payne. Right. To gentleman on the other side that spoke 
just before me, he opined on the 85,000 children that are still 
missing. Well, I know one of the reasons they are still 
missing, because nobody took the time to make sure they took an 
accounting of where these children were. So that might be a 
part of that 85,000 that he is so worried about.
    The Biden administration has established a task force to 
reunify children and their parents. What more can be done to 
help find the still missing families?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think the task force has done a very good 
job. I think it got off to a slow start, but now it is working 
diligently with partners. Ultimately I'm not sure that there 
are a lot of specifics. I think we probably are doing 
everything we can, but these last remaining families could be 
in hiding, and it's difficult. But I am happy to work with the 
committee on additional steps as we discover them.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you.
    Last week, the Department of Homeland Security published a 
report describing the efforts the Department has undertaken to 
review the--incorporate feedback from organizations 
representing the needs of children, including children within 
underserved communities, into the Department policy. This 
report was established as a result of my bill, the Homeland 
Security for Children Act, which was signed into law last year. 
The report states separating children from their families to 
deter other individuals from coming to the United States and 
asserting an asylum claim is in clear opposition of our 
Nation's values. So I just wanted to put that on the record.
    Mr. Gelernt, if a future administration was to bring back a 
policy that separated children from their families in some way, 
what potential impact would there be on these children?
    Mr. Gelernt. If the policy came back I think what we would 
see is exactly what we saw before, deeply traumatized children, 
possibly for the rest of their lives, as well as the parents. I 
mean I can't imagine what it would be like to have my child 
taken away, not know where they've been taken, not know whether 
I'm going to ever get them back. I mean, one of the first 
children we reunited, the emotion was so raw when they were 
finally reunited. One of the reasons I think it was so raw is 
not just because they had been separated for 5 months, but 
because I think that they never actually thought they would see 
each other again. So I think what we're talking about is 
traumatizing thousands and thousands of more children again. I 
hope that we'd never again in this country engage in that type 
of policy.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you.
    To your point about you could not imagine, I would hope my 
colleagues in the Congress would have had that same feeling as 
I did, I could not imagine my children being separated from me 
and I hope the former President and my colleagues realize that 
fact.
    I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Bishop for his 5 minutes of testimony 
or questions.
    Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Ballard, I also saw the movie Sound of Freedom. I don't 
know if others do this, sometimes when I see a movie based on 
supposedly real life I go out and do a little research and see 
how close to real life it is. The most significant finding that 
I had from going to look at that, sir, is you are, from 
everything I have seen, a genuine and remarkable hero. There is 
one hero that surpasses you, and that is your wife, sir.
    How many children do you have, including the two Haitian 
children you have just mentioned?
    Mr. Ballard. There's nine in total.
    Mr. Bishop. When you did some fairly extraordinary things, 
as that movie depicts, and Jim Caviezel, I think, acts it 
marvelously--they could have put you in it because they usually 
get the leading man because he is good-looking, you are not too 
shabby yourself--and I say as an old bald guy--but what was 
depicted in that story really happens. You really did that and 
your family, your wife was committed to it to a level that is 
remarkable.
    Would you repeat the statistic about what the experience is 
of a child who is trafficked, how long that can happen and how 
many--just real quickly, because I want to use it as the basis 
to ask a question to Mr. Gelernt.
    Mr. Ballard. Well, a child--the ones that we have seen, 
many that we have seen, they're sold over and over again, 10 
times up to 20 times within a 24 hours period when they're with 
a criminal network that's organized that way. There's plenty of 
those in the United States.
    Mr. Bishop. For how long?
    Mr. Ballard. Oh, 10-plus years.
    Mr. Bishop. Mr. Gelernt, there are all sorts of human 
miseries in life. You have described, I think, in your lawsuit 
and the advocacy about it depicts one that is certainly true, 
the separation of children from their parents. In most cases, 
it has turned out to be on a temporary basis, but nonetheless, 
one that you said is very traumatizing, no doubt. Which is 
worse, that sort-of temporary separation or being exploited in 
sex trafficking up to 20 times a day for as long as the child + 
a decade? Which is worse, in your view?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes. I mean, Congressman, I am not here 
remotely to dismiss the horror----
    Mr. Bishop. Can you just say what you--I mean you wouldn't 
disagree with me that the one Mr. Ballard describes is a much 
more devastating misery?
    Mr. Gelernt. A child sex-trafficked, a young child sex-
trafficked is as bad as it can be.
    Mr. Bishop. So here is the thing, and I am sure you would 
be thinking, because you are very skillful, that as you sit 
there that I am depicting a false choice. That is to say, the 
fact that you would see that experience would not excuse the 
United States from abusing rights and separating children. I 
actually totally agree with you. But you do have to think about 
the design of your policies, of all of our policies and what 
you do and what results that entails.
    You have said that the 85,000 children that HHS has lost 
track of, you don't really think they are missing. I understand 
your point there, too. They would just not assume--in a lot of 
cases, they'd like not to have official contacts. Let's say 6 
percent of them, though, are in a different circumstance, sir. 
That would be 5,500 people, 5,500 children who have gone off 
the grid for some other reason. I suspect in many of those 
cases, it is the reason that Mr. Ballard's presence here 
testifies to.
    I think Mr. Ballard, I would like to give the last little 
while. I don't know that anyone in this room could contest or 
doubt your commitment to children, and yet you don't seem to be 
allied with Mr. Gelernt about which is the biggest problem. Can 
you speak to that in the last minute and 16 seconds I have 
available?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes. I find it curious the amount of attention 
on a policy that I actually agree with the witness that 
shouldn't be repeated again. But we have something before us 
right now--85,000 children are missing. Because if you 
understand the vetting process that goes into, for example, an 
adoption or that goes into if you find a missing child in New 
York city or whatever city, the vetting process that would go 
into anyone coming to claim that child. If that kid was 
released to anyone without that vetting process, you would call 
that child missing. Especially when you called the number and 
they're not picking it up. We can suspect why they're not 
picking it up.
    So I think that we have before us a problem right now. 
Right now this should be the focus of the Congress' actions.
    Mr. Bishop. Well said.
    I am going to take back my last 20 seconds because I want 
to make one other point that I think sometimes eludes us. The 
question is not that inside HHS suddenly bureaucrats have been 
uncommitted to vetting children's sponsors. The problem is we 
have gone from about 1,400 children to--I can't do the number--
to 83,000 a year that have gone missing. These are people that 
have been--because the system is overwhelmed with the numbers 
of unaccompanied children that have been incentivized to come. 
Whether you believe that it is honorable and humane or not, 
whether it is triggered by problems in other parts of the world 
or not, we have designed policy--we--others have designed 
policy for the United States that they believe is best and so 
children are being sent here unaccompanied in massive numbers, 
and you make them massive enough, you cannot build a system 
sufficient to vet them. That is the end result, Mr. Gelernt, to 
the policy you guys have pursued.
    I have great respect for the ACLU, actually, and I would 
get into that if I weren't out of time. But I suspect that we 
have got to look at our overall picture and where the results 
have come.
    Thank you.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Thanedar for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Chairman. I want to thank all of 
witnesses. You know, your stories touch my heart. Personal 
losses, heroism, everything that you talked about.
    But, Mr. Gelernt, thank you again for joining us today. I 
want to applaud your work fighting the previous 
administration's inhumane policies. The welfare of children has 
always been a priority for me and for my constituency. Now, 
welfare does not just mean keeping children safe from harm, it 
means ensuring that their mental well-being is protected. The 
separation policy started under the previous administration 
caused immense damage to the lives of many vulnerable and 
helpless children. Research has shown that it led to tortious 
outcomes, and these concerns are just the tip of the iceberg.
    Regardless of their right to enter the country, the 
separation caused undue trauma that will linger painfully. This 
policy was not and is not necessary, nor does it do anything 
for border control. Yet there are those who still support it.
    Mr. Gelernt, considering this situation, and given your 
know-how, how many policy changes are needed to undo the 
problems generated by institutions such as the family 
separation policy?
    Mr. Gelernt. Well, we hope that no administration ever does 
it again, but obviously, Congress can enact a law to prohibit 
it, and that would be certainly a worthwhile thing to do so 
that we didn't have to rely on the Federal courts. I hope that 
the Federal courts will never allow such a policy to be 
enacted. But we stand ready to work with Congress if Congress 
were to take that up.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you.
    Now, the hardship of being an immigrant is something that 
is often forgotten when speaking about border policy. We 
quickly forget that the pluses and minuses in the data are 
human beings with feelings, thoughts, fears, and joys. NGO's, 
in partnership with ICE, often take care of the human character 
of migrants. As an immigrant myself, I was lucky enough to be 
extended a hand by an NGO when I needed it most, fighting 
homelessness. Therefore, can creating partnership between 
government organization and NGO's offer a workable solution to 
ease the human cost of border control?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think that the NGO's have an enormous role 
to play, and a partnership with NGO's is the right way to go, 
because I think the NGO's are trusted by immigrant communities 
and can do things that sometimes the government can't do. So we 
have strongly advocated for partnerships with NGO's.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. LaLota for 5 minutes of questioning. 
Oh, Mr. Gimenez. Mr. Gimenez came in on me. My apologies, Mr. 
LaLota.
    I recognize Mr. Gimenez.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just snuck in, 
sorry.
    Mr. Ballard, I watched the movie that portrays part of your 
life, and it was very powerful, very powerful movie. I would 
like to get your opinion. What policies that are in place now 
are, if they are, helping the cartels, helping the human 
traffickers to traffic minors and other people in the United 
States?
    Mr. Ballard. Well, we know that what drives criminal 
networks who are making approximately $14 million a day, what 
drives them are the very lack of enforcing our policies, the 
lack of policies, the lack of enforcement of the policies that 
are in place. Because if you can get a person in and a child in 
that easily, that's what drives a criminal network. So we have 
good laws on the books, we're just not enforcing them.
    There's another issue that we should be very concerned 
about. There's something called the Flores Settlement, which is 
well-intended. It's a court ruling that compels a child to be 
released within 72 hours into the United States, even if that 
child's with their parent. Well, the traffickers are always 
smarter than we give them credit for, and they've been taking 
advantage of that. What they do is they'll take these children 
who are unaccompanied, and they will pair them and they will 
instruct them to call this woman and this man, the clients of 
the smuggler, mom and dad. Border Patrol was noticing the same 
kids keep coming through as the kid of the family. So that's a 
part of this conversation, too, of this family separation. If 
there are real families being separated, that's devastating, 
that shouldn't happen. But let's vet it again. It's a lack of 
vetting, it's a lack of investigating. Is that kid really with 
that parent, or is that kid being abused? Is that kid being 
used as a pawn in the game, in the trafficking criminal 
networks efforts?
    So all those things has to do with taking children, in my 
opinion, making them the priority, investigating everything 
about them and who's coming to get them. That's what's lacking.
    Mr. Gimenez. It is interesting because my last term I went 
down to the border and to check out what was going on and 
actually ran into about six migrants crossing the border, a 
father--two fathers, a couple teenagers. It turns out that one 
of the fathers wasn't really the father. Later on, they found 
out, they did some DNA testing and all that. So I am wondering 
if that DNA testing is still going on to find out if these 
supposedly parents are real parents. Then we really have a big 
issue here.
    What would you do differently in order to stem the flow of 
human trafficking that we have right now? Because you are quite 
right. I mean, the cartels are actually making more money on 
human trafficking than they are with drugs, which is really 
when you think about it, that is a heck of a thing to say. They 
are making billions of dollars on human trafficking. What would 
you do differently?
    Mr. Ballard. Well, for one, I would return the rapid DNA 
technology that was once in place and this current 
administration took it away several months ago. I don't know 
why they did that. I've used this technology. It's like within 
20 minutes you can get a positive or negative ID and confirm.
    Mr. Gimenez. So the administration actually took that away?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes.
    Mr. Gimenez. They did? So we have an administration that is 
saying that it is inhumane to separate families from each 
other, and yet they don't even know the people being brought 
over are being brought by their family?
    Mr. Ballard. Right. Worse than that, anyone can show up and 
claim----
    Mr. Gimenez. I wonder what the ACLU has to say about that. 
That is a rhetorical question. Thank you. Go ahead.
    Mr. Ballard. I would investigate that.
    Mr. Gimenez. Yes. OK. Now, see I get upset when I see 
injustice, when I see the human toll that is happening at our 
border in the name of politics, in the name of open border, the 
human suffering that continues to happen in the United States, 
85,000 children at least, that are unaccounted for. Is that a 
tragedy, sir?
    Mr. Gelernt. If the 85,000 are really missing and being 
exploited, absolutely. But we don't believe that the mere fact 
that the calls were not answered--and I just want to--if I 
could just make one point. We are all for when people show up 
and there's some reason to believe that it's not the parent or 
legal guardian for some kind of vetting. There's lots of ways 
to do it, and it's easy. DNA was mentioned, calling the 
consulate, checking documents. But what we don't want to see 
and what we have happened, what we have seen repeatedly is just 
someone says, well, we don't want trafficking, so we're going 
to take this family away. Then they actually are the parent. 
The judge says, well, why don't you do a DNA test? It becomes 
clear it is the parent. So I think there needs to be balance on 
both sides.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you. My time is up. I wish I had a heck 
of a lot more time because I could have a lot more questions.
    Thank you and I yield back.
    Mr. Guest [presiding]. At this point the Chair recognizes 
Mr. Goldman for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Goldman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Gelernt, a couple quick questions for you. Can the 
Biden administration unilaterally hire more immigration judges 
to address the long backlog of asylum claims?
    Mr. Gelernt. I apologize. I do not know all the technical 
aspects of what they can do now and whether they have----
    Mr. Goldman. Well, they would need authorization and 
appropriation from Congress, right?
    Mr. Gelernt. Well, right, so--right.
    Mr. Goldman. So can the administration just print money so 
that they can hire more border security agents, or is that 
something that Congress has to do?
    Mr. Gelernt. No. No.
    Mr. Goldman. OK. It is interesting to hear my colleagues 
say that the administration's policies are political when there 
are so many obvious legislative issues that need to be fixed by 
Congress that the administration cannot do. Unfortunately, what 
is political about our immigration discussion right now is what 
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are doing, and 
they are using immigration as a political partisan cudgel, and 
they have no interest in actually solving the problems. The 
backlog of asylum claims is a significant problem that we need 
to address, our border security is a significant problem that 
we need to address. We may disagree on how to do it, but 
Congress has to do it.
    So I find it remarkable when I hear the Chairman say that 
this administration, ``Encourages child and sex trafficking''. 
Or my colleague from Louisiana says that the Government is 
partnering with cartels in human trafficking.
    Mr. Ballard, do you agree that this Government is 
encouraging human trafficking and partnering with the criminal 
organizations to engage in human trafficking?
    Mr. Ballard. I wouldn't say it's wittingly, but I would 
definitely say that the trafficking networks are using a failed 
policy to get people and children into our country in a way 
that's unethical and flat-out wrong.
    Mr. Goldman. Unethical and wrong----
    Mr. Ballard. And wrong.
    Mr. Goldman [continuing]. To enforce our--OK.
    Let's talk about that for a second. You have talked about 
the control of the human trafficking network by the cartels, 
right?
    Mr. Ballard. Correct.
    Mr. Goldman. The cartels are the ones who are or 
orchestrating this and benefiting from it and pushing it, 
correct?
    Mr. Ballard. Correct.
    Mr. Goldman. The cartels, you would agree, rule to the 
extent they do by force and threat of violence, correct?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes.
    Mr. Goldman. They do that because they possess weapons of 
war, such as AR-15s, correct.
    Mr. Ballard. The cartels, yes, they possess those things.
    Mr. Goldman. Do you know where the majority of those 
weapons of war come from that the cartels use?
    Mr. Ballard. I don't.
    Mr. Goldman. The United States. The United States.
    Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask unanimous consent to 
introduce a July 24, 2023 article by Reuters that is entitled 
``Mexico Urges U.S. Court to revive a $10 billion lawsuit 
against gun makers''.
    Mr. Guest. So ordered.
    [The information follows:]

 Mexico Urges US Court to Revive $10 Billion Lawsuit Against Gun Makers
By Nate Raymond
July 24, 2023 3:26 PM EDT, Updated 6 months ago
    BOSTON, July 24 (Reuters).--The Mexican government on Monday urged 
a U.S. appeals court to revive a $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold 
U.S. gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of 
weapons to drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border.
    A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 
Boston questioned whether a lower-court judge wrongly concluded that a 
U.S. law barred Mexico from suing Smith & Wesson Brands.
    That law, the Federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act 
(PLCAA), provides the firearms industry broad protection from lawsuits 
over their products' misuse.
    But Mexico's lawyers argued the law only bars lawsuits over 
injuries that occur in the United States and does not shield the seven 
manufacturers and one distributor it sued from liability over the 
trafficking of guns to Mexican criminals.
    Steve Shadowen, a lawyer for Mexico, said allowing its case to 
proceed in U.S. courts would enable Mexico to not only seek damages but 
also a court order aimed at combating the 20,000 deaths a year he 
blamed on the companies' actions.
    ``What we want is an injunction to make these defendants start 
paying attention to their distribution systems,'' he said. ``And it's 
only U.S. courts that can provide that injunctive relief.''
    Mexico says over 500,000 guns are trafficked annually from the 
United States into Mexico, of which more than 68 percent are made by 
the companies it sued, which also include Beretta USA, Barrett Firearms 
Manufacturing, Colt's Manufacturing Co and Glock Inc.
    Noel Francisco, a lawyer for Smith & Wesson, argued Mexico's 
lawsuit was devoid of allegations the gun manufacturers' gun sales 
themselves did anything that would create an exception to PLCAA's broad 
protections.
    ``You have licensed manufacturers that sell to licensed 
distributors that sell to licensed retailers that sell to individuals 
who satisfy the requirements of Federal law, but some of them happen to 
be straw purchasers,'' he said.
    U.S. Circuit Judge William Kayatta said that while Mexico had not 
alleged the gun makers directly violated any gun laws, one of its core 
legal theories was that they aided and abetted others who trafficked 
guns abroad, creating potential liability.
    ``What's wrong with it?'' Kayatta asked.
    A ruling is expected in the coming months.
    Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot.

    Mr. Goldman. I flag this because in 2005 the Republicans 
passed, over Democrats objections, a bill that provides 
immunity to gun manufacturers. What we have here is that the 
cartels are ruling by force, they are ruling, as you just 
testified, Mr. Ballard, through the use of weapons, of guns, of 
weapons of war that are trafficked across the border, but not 
from south to north, from north to south. I am sure you would 
agree with me that if they did not possess those weapons of 
war, they would be much less powerful because that is how they 
rule. No one here is defending child sex trafficking. I 
supervise prosecutions of sex trafficking. There is nothing 
worse. But there is a big difference between criminal 
organizations engaging in crimes, child sex trafficking, and 
the Government sanctioning policies that separate children from 
their parents.
    So let's remember, we are not talking apples to apples 
here. Let's hope that we never go back to that policy, as 
Donald Trump recently said he would like to do.
    I yield back.
    Mr. Guest. The Chair at this time recognizes Representative 
McCaul for 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Ballard, thank you for being here and all the 
witnesses. Ms. Snodgrass, I am so sorry to hear about your 
son's passing. We are hearing these stories way too much, way 
too frequently.
    I was a Federal prosecutor many years, I was Chair of this 
committee. HSI does some great work. The movie Sound of 
Freedom, very moving. Especially God's children are not for 
sale. They are not. What we see with the trafficking, it is one 
of the worst sins that I have seen in my lifetime, where 
children are property and they are trafficked. I want to thank 
you for your heroism and the job you did to save those 
children. Problem is, we have more children now, trafficked, 
than ever before.
    Would you agree that this is probably one of the worst 
human trafficking events of your lifetime right now?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely.
    Mr. McCaul. On Day 1, this administration rescinded a 
policy that was working. It was called Remain in Mexico. You 
know how political asylum works. They couldn't touch base in 
the United States, there was no catch-and-release, 85 percent 
don't qualify, 15 percent do. It worked. On Day 1, it is 
rescinded. Guess what happens? The floodgates. Every Border 
Patrol agent I talk to--I am from the great State of Texas--
will tell you that there was a direct cause and effect.
    But it is not just human trafficking. Now we have almost 
100,000 deaths due to fentanyl, which, unfortunately, Ms. 
Snodgrass knows only too well. Have you ever seen anything 
worse from an opioid epidemic in your lifetime?
    Mr. Ballard. No, no.
    Mr. McCaul. What is worse is when the kids get here, guess 
what, they have no legal status. So where do they go, Mr. 
Ballard? The women, the girls, where do they go?
    Mr. Ballard. They have to be released to HHS, where they 
wait for any sponsor to come and pick them up and take them 
home.
    Mr. McCaul. A lot of times, these sponsors have maybe 15 
different children. Guess what they are doing? Sex trafficking. 
They are bringing it now inside the United States of America. 
Guess what? Where do the young boys typically go? They don't 
have a home. Maybe they have a sponsor. Guess what happens to 
them?
    Mr. Ballard. Well, they're exploited, labor, sex. Any kind 
of exploitation is available. They have no name, no number, no 
identity. They are the perfect victim of any kind of 
exploitation within this country because no one even knows they 
exist.
    Mr. McCaul. The perfect victim. Both the girls and the 
boys. The boys, I would argue, go to MS-13, where they got to 
pay back their debt to the cartels. This is a racket, and it is 
sanctioned by this administration. In fact, it was created by 
this administration. Would you agree with that?
    Mr. Ballard. The policies absolutely made this possible. 
Absolutely.
    Mr. McCaul. The policies.
    You know, when I was a Federal prosecutor there is aiding 
and abetting complicit with an offense. Would you consider 
these policies to be aiding and abetting the criminal conduct 
that we are seeing?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely. Especially since the 
administration has been told and warned and told again that 
that's what they're doing. If they continue doing it, 
absolutely I'd say they're absolutely aiding and abetting and 
they're complicit in this.
    Mr. McCaul. Secretary Mayorkas knows better. I have known 
him for a long time. I worked with Jeh Johnson. He was a U.S. 
Attorney like I was, in the border State of California. He 
knows exactly what he is doing, but he is disregarding the 
truth, and he won't change the policy that is causing so much 
harm and destruction to this country.
    Would you say that Secretary Mayorkas is complicit with the 
human trafficking, with the fentanyl, with the sex trafficking, 
with the deaths?
    Mr. Ballard. Because I've seen him be questioned in 
hearings both Senate and House, and I know that he now knows 
because I've seen it, I have to say, unfortunately, yes, that 
he would have to be complicit in it.
    Mr. McCaul. Have you ever seen the death rate higher than 
it is today of people just trying to get to the border?
    Mr. Ballard. Never. It's never been this high.
    Mr. McCaul. Because there are so many of them.
    Mr. Ballard. There's so many.
    Mr. McCaul. Because we are open for business. That is a 
sign the administration put on the border, we are open for 
business, come on in, come on in. Once you touch base in the 
United States, guess what? Catch-and-release. My first bill in 
Congress 20 years ago began catch-and-release. Guess what? We 
are back to it again. It is a failed policy. It doesn't work. 
We finally had it fixed, and then this administration comes in 
and they screwed it all up. It comes at a high price. Too many 
people are dying from overdose. Ms. Snodgrass, my heart goes 
out to you. My children have been to five funerals already of 
their friends. Too many human trafficking cases. We just opened 
up the United States to be a big criminal conspiracy network. 
Is that correct, Mr. Ballard?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes.
    Mr. McCaul. I see my time has expired.
    Thank you so much, and I appreciate all of you.
    Mr. Ballard, thanks for the job you have done.
    Mr. Ballard. Thank you, sir.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Magaziner for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Magaziner. Thank you, Chairman.
    We do have a humanitarian crisis at the border and the way 
you deal with a humanitarian crisis is with humanity. not with 
cruelty, not with political posturing, with humanity. 
Unfortunately, too many of my colleagues are more focused on 
impeachment theater than they are on working together in a 
bipartisan way to solve the problems at the border.
    There are Republicans on this committee who filed articles 
of impeachment against the Homeland Security Secretary 2 years 
ago when he had only been on the job for a couple of months, 
and others who bragged to their supporters that impeachment was 
in the works even before the committee began holding hearings 
on this topic. I really wish that my colleagues would stop 
playing political games and work together in a bipartisan way 
to advance real solutions at the border because there are 
things that will help that we can come together on, if you 
would just work with us.
    So look, the vast majority of the migrants coming to our 
Southern Border are escaping poverty, they are escaping 
political persecution, they are seeking a better life for 
themselves and their children because they see the United 
States as a beacon of hope. In many cases, the migrants coming 
to the border are seeking to come legally. I cannot stress this 
enough, in many cases they want to do the right thing, apply 
for legal asylum under our laws and immigrate legally. 
Unfortunately, many migrants on their journey to the United 
States face danger from drug cartels, from human smugglers, 
from gun smugglers. Even when they are able to avoid the 
cartels and the smugglers, many die on their arduous journey. 
When they arrive at the border, oftentimes they face weeks and 
months of delays and delays and delays and red tape before they 
can have their legal claims processed. Dying of thirst, dying 
of starvation, running out of time, they seek to enter the 
country between ports of entry out of sheer desperation, not 
because they want to, but because they have no other choice.
    Of course, it is not just the migrants who are falling 
victim to the cartels and the traffickers and the gun 
smugglers, it is American citizens too.
    So let's talk about solutions. In my conversations with 
Border Patrol leadership, they were clear that their No. 1 ask 
of us is a more streamlined system at legal ports of entry so 
that the migrants who are trying to do the right thing and come 
here legally aren't driven between ports of entry, but have 
their claims processed in an orderly way at ports of entry. I 
heard Mr. Ballard talk about the bravery of the blue shirts, 
the customs and immigration officials, and I agree completely. 
We need more blue shirts. We need more blue shirts who are 
qualified at the ports of entry, who know how to separate the 
good guys from the bad guys. When it comes to Border Patrol, 
what they are asking us is make it easier for the people trying 
to do the right thing to go to ports of entry so that we can 
focus our efforts between ports of entry, going after the bad 
guys, going after the smugglers, going after the cartels. We 
are not going to fix illegal immigration in this country 
without fixing legal immigration. That is part of the solution. 
I wish my colleagues would work across the aisle on this 
because there are real bipartisan solutions that will help.
    We cannot go back, we must not go back to the cruel tactics 
of the past. Fifty-five hundred children, at least that we know 
of, separated from their families under the Trump 
administration, including 500 under age 5. Thousands of parents 
who risked their lives so that their children could have a 
better future and will now probably never see their children 
again because of the despicable, grandstanding politicians who 
wanted to look tough. Now another grandstanding politician, the 
Governor of Texas, has illegally strung miles of razor sharp 
coils across the banks of the Rio Grande. Children, some as 
young as 5, receiving staples for lacerations. Let's not forget 
the Governor of Florida, who sent agents to Texas, not even his 
own State, to fool people into getting on planes, telling them 
that they would get help, but never notifying the States that 
they were being sent to. It was all a charade, political 
grandstanding. Let's work together on real solutions, better 
border security, a more streamlined legal immigration process, 
humanity, not cruelty. There are real solutions here that we 
can come together as a country around, but the grandstanding 
has to stop.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Garbarino for his questioning.
    Mr. Garbarino. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, the 
witnesses, for being here today.
    I want to start with Ms. Cantu. The DHS Inspector General 
released a report in May of this year that found that ECE and 
CBP personnel felt that Secretary of Mayorkas' policies have 
forced them to perform their job with one hand tied behind 
their back. Multiple chief patrol agents, including the now 
chief of the Border Patrol, told this committee in official 
interviews this summer that they had heard similar frustrations 
from their agents. Do you agree with this assessment?
    Ms. Cantu. Yes, I agree.
    Mr. Garbarino. To the extent you feel comfortable sharing, 
what additional frustrations has your husband expressed with 
the current policies of the Secretary?
    Ms. Cantu. I could say that our agents share the 
frustration with them not being allowed to be those asylum-
seeking judges, because before they were. They were the first 
contact of anybody seeking asylum. They could get to decide, 
because they got the first-hand approach to these people, 
whether they should stay or they should go, whether they were 
lying or they were not lying. A lot of duties have been taken 
away from our Border Patrol agents, the duties that they 
learned at their academy to do, and now they've been just 
diluted because of the simple concept of the border is open. 
Now it's too hard for our agents.
    Another frustration is not being able to have a one-on-one 
interview with juveniles, with kids. Before our agents would do 
that, our Border Patrol agents would. How do I know that? 
Because my husband would come home with all those stories. Now 
it's not like that anymore. It's too many because of the same 
concept, our border is open. Now that's how we start losing 
kids, because our agents have lost the one-on-one with those 
kids.
    So the fact that the rules, the laws that are in place are 
not being followed, and that's frustrating for them. I can say 
that the majority of agents that I've spoken to between 
conversations, everybody says the same thing. I haven't heard 
anybody say differently. The frustration of not having our laws 
in place, not having Remain in Mexico in place, not being able 
to be those judges because they're the first people that can 
tell whether it's a real story or not. Not able to do the one 
on one interview with the juveniles, knowing whether that 
parent is a parent or not. Those Border Patrol agents can make 
that distinction. They're the best eyes out there to do that 
job. But all of these tasks that they have learned to do at 
their academy has been stripped away from them because of the 
concept that the border is open.
    Now here we are, everybody asking these questions. With all 
due respect, those questions that everybody's been asking, 
you're talking about are Border Patrol agents. I haven't come 
across a question that you guys have asked that doesn't pertain 
to an agent. Whether these families, these kids were separated, 
we already know what happened to those kids.
    The frustration with our agents is that all these steps are 
being skipped. They've been skipped out of this equation. Every 
agent can tell you exactly how to fix this problem, but nobody 
is listening. One more time, our Border Patrol agents have been 
completely skipped out of this entire system. That's why we sit 
here today. That's the frustration.
    Mr. Garbarino. Thank you, and I understand and I appreciate 
that. I know that frustration often leads to trauma, PTSD for 
these agents. The Ranking Member and I do have that DHS suicide 
prevention bill that we are working on. So hopefully we can get 
that moving.
    But I only have a little bit of time left and I want to get 
to Ms. Snodgrass. I am very sorry for your loss. But I want to 
ask you this question. The DA's latest national threat 
assessment found major cartels are operating in at least 60 
American cities peddling dangerous drugs. According to 
preliminary data, Alaska had a larger percentage increase in 
overdose deaths than any other State from 2020 to 2021, with 
fatalities rising from 146 to 253. Your organization, Alaska 
Fentanyl Response Project, works to raise awareness about 
dangers of fentanyl and combats drugs in Alaska. Can you please 
explain how fentanyl impacts Alaskan communities?
    Ms. Snodgrass. Thank you for the question.
    So Alaska is being targeted by Mexican drug cartels because 
of the prices that they can charge there. They can charge $80 
for one pill that's normally sold for $10 in other American 
cities. The rural Alaskan communities are only accessible by 
air. Those air carriers, private air carriers, do not screen. 
So you get off a major airlines and then you get on a small air 
carrier, you can get on with whatever you can carry and you're 
not screened. We recently had interdictions in Kodiak, Alaska, 
a very small community of maybe 1,000 people with 3,000 pills--
3,000 pills headed to a community of 1,000 individuals. Happens 
all the time in Alaska. Alaska is working very, very hard in 
interdicting these drugs. They are boots-on-the-ground guys, 
very similar to who you're talking about, that we will not wait 
for the Federal Government. We're doing it ourselves in Alaska. 
So we're very unique in that, that we can do that. But Alaska 
has a big target on its back. The DEA knows it, and they're 
helping us.
    Other cities, other States, other countries, there's no 
difference between Alaska and anywhere else in the United 
States. It's being brought into every community around the 
country every day. Three hundred Americans die on American 
sovereign soil every day.
    Mr. Garbarino. I appreciate that answer, and again, I thank 
you for your hard work.
    I am over my time. I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Garcia for his 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to 
all of our witnesses.
    Certainly it definitely feels like deja vu again here in 
this hearing. We have the same hearing it seems over and over 
again without actually really bringing up issues that would 
make this country safer.
    We have had 6 full committee hearings, 5 of them just on 
the border, one of which, of course, was just the Republican 
caucus just yelling at Secretary Mayorkas here in this chamber. 
Now, everyone takes border security seriously, but I do want to 
remind us this is the Homeland Security Committee, not just the 
border committee. But we also know why House Republicans 
continue to focus on this issue. It is over and over again a 
political stunt focused on impeaching Secretary Mayorkas. We 
also keep hearing lies repeated over and over by some of our 
colleagues on the other side.
    I have a couple questions for Mr. Gelernt. Again, to 
reiterate, is the border open, and is it legal to claim asylum 
in this country?
    Mr. Gelernt. It is not illegal to seek asylum.
    Mr. Garcia. Would it be legal for the Biden administration 
to refuse to accept asylum claims?
    Mr. Gelernt. It would be. We believe that the current 
policy is effectively denying people the right to apply for 
asylum, and that's why we've brought a lawsuit.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you.
    Has the Biden administration ordered border agencies to 
stop enforcing the law?
    Mr. Gelernt. Not that I'm aware.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you, and I hope that settles some things 
for our colleagues.
    I also want to remind our colleagues that FBI crime data 
shows that in border communities crime is actually 15 percent 
lower than the national average. This is a narrative that is 
against what is normally brought up as some sort of chaos 
happening in border communities across the border.
    But I also want to address how broken our conversation on 
immigration is. We should be clear that there is no way to an 
orderly border without a conversation about legal pathways. 
Many of my colleagues on the Democratic side have brought this 
up, but we also have to be very clear about why these 
conversations are happening. Our conversation is broken 
because, unfortunately, House Republicans are competing by 
threatening people and national Republicans are making lies 
about what is actually happening along the border.
    Now, Mr. Gelernt, would it be a good idea you think to 
shoot migrants in the legs, as Donald Trump has advocated?
    Mr. Gelernt. I'm sorry, Congressman?
    Mr. Garcia. Do you think it would be a good idea to shoot 
migrants in the legs, as Donald Trump has advocated?
    Mr. Gelernt. No, I don't.
    Mr. Garcia. Do you think it would be a good idea to build a 
water-filled moat with alligators along the border, as Donald 
Trump has advocated?
    Mr. Gelernt. No, I don't.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you. I agree with you.
    But we are seeing real actions taking place that are quite 
shameful and disturbing. Governor Greg Abbot, as you know, 
recently took horrific actions by illegally deploying actual 
floating buoys, which we saw with blades on them, to maim 
innocent people at the border. The sheriff of the county where 
these blades were deployed, who is a Border Patrol veteran, 
blasted the barrier as a waste of money and far from effective. 
We know Republican leaders continue to tell their base that we 
can solve this problem also with military strikes in Mexico. 
Former President Trump--back to Donald Trump--said he wants 
battle plans drawn for attacking Mexico. Ken Cuccinelli, who 
Trump picked to run the Department of Homeland Security, wrote 
a policy memo calling for the full-scale multi-invasion of 
Mexico territory over a few years. Florida Governor Ron 
DeSantis has declared that he is prepared to authorize drone 
strikes in Mexico. Almost every Republican Presidential 
candidate has claimed to agree with this policy. I hope the 
American people understand how much damage and chaos, of 
course, this would unleash.
    Now, Mexico's former Ambassador has warned, ``That Mexico 
probably will refuse to continue to cooperate with a President 
that threatens to use force against Mexico without Mexico's 
consent''. So this idea that we are somehow going to invade 
northern Mexico, which is being parroted by Donald Trump and 
the other Republican candidates, is completely crazy.
    Now, Mr. Gelernt, I know you have a great deal of 
experience with the refugee population in northern Mexico who 
are waiting, in many cases, to claim asylum. What would the 
impact of a military strike have on conditions there? How would 
that be received?
    Mr. Gelernt. I don't believe it would be received well.
    Mr. Garcia. What do you think would create a more orderly 
Southern Border? Legal pathways for asylum seekers who are 
often fleeing cartels or American planes bombing northern 
Mexican cities?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think you're hitting on it correctly. I 
think the way to deal with asylum is to create more legal 
pathways. I think one of the things the cartels prey on is the 
lack of legal pathways so people have no choice but to turn to 
cartels. People don't want to turn to cartels, they don't want 
to have to trek miles and miles to find a place to cross, they 
want to have a legal pathway through a port of entry. I think 
that's the way to undermine cartels and to provide a humane 
asylum system.
    Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Gelernt.
    I am sorry that the question line is even necessary. I 
think it is important to highlight some of the completely 
ridiculous and insane ideas that have been brought up by the 
leader of the Republican Party.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Ms. Greene for her 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Ms. Greene. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for bringing 
this excellent panel of witnesses before us.
    While Democrats on our committee want to widen the road and 
create a bigger invasion into the United States of America, 
enabling human trafficking, cartels making over $150 billion a 
year on selling little girls, little boys, and selling people 
into the United States and selling drugs, Republicans are 
committed to securing our border, Mr. Chairman, and firing the 
people whose failed policies are killing Americans every single 
day. I want to remind everyone, we serve the United States of 
American citizens, not the rest of the world. That needs to be 
made clear. You need to remember your oath of office, people.
    Ms. Snodgrass, I am very sorry for your loss.
    Ms. Snodgrass. Thank you.
    Ms. Greene. My children are 25, 23, and 19. I can't imagine 
what you go through losing a child.
    Ms. Snodgrass. I can tell you that those cartels are 
targeting your children. They're targeting military-aged youth 
in this country from China and Mexico. They're targeting your 
children.
    Ms. Greene. That is right. They are targeting everyone's 
children.
    Ms. Snodgrass, we had another witness come before our 
committee. Mrs. Rebecca Kiessling testified before this 
committee in March of this year. She lost her two sons to 
fentanyl poisoning, like you lost your son. She lost them in 
2020. She passionately called out the current administration 
for its pathetic border security policies that aren't securing 
our border, opening our border, that made the fentanyl crisis 
even worse. However, she was laughingly mocked by the President 
of the United States, Joe Biden, for her criticism of the on-
going border crisis because that fentanyl they took came during 
the last administration. How did Joe Biden's comments when he 
laughed at her sit with parents like you who lost a child to 
fentanyl poisoning? How did that make you feel, Ms. Snodgrass?
    Ms. Snodgrass. Thank you for the question.
    I was here with Rebecca that day and the next day when that 
comment was made. She was devastated. All of us in the fentanyl 
family groups were devastated by that comment. It's 
unconscionable that this is not recognized as a red, white, and 
blue issue. This is American children dying on American soil. 
No one knows what their voting history is when they're sold a 
drug. She went underground for a month after that. We all will 
never forget, we will never forget the disrespect paid to us, 
and particularly Rebecca lost two sons. We'll never forget it. 
To think that this could be talked about in terms of who died 
on whose watch, there's no explanation for that. This country 
is being targeted. It's a war being won, in my opinion, on 
American soil. They're killing 112,000 Americans. That's war. 
We need drug terrorists to be declared as terrorists. Fentanyl 
is a weapon of mass destruction. This is a war being waged. We 
are not standing up to it. We need to turn the tables and take 
this war to them. Take this war to them instead of us 
responding poorly, in my opinion. Take this to them. Turn the 
tables.
    Ms. Greene. That is right. Thank you. Thank you so much for 
that. Again, I am very sorry for your loss.
    Mr. Gelernt, I am sorry, I can't see your----
    Mr. Gelernt. That's all right. Gelernt.
    Ms. Greene. Gelernt. You know, I find it so hypocritical of 
you to listen to you basically mock former President Trump's 
administration, attacking the policies of testing for DNA, 
keeping children safe while they are ensuring that they are 
with a parent, while this administration, under Secretary 
Mayorkas, under Joe Biden, this administration Democrats have 
lost over 85,000 children in our country. We cannot find them. 
We cannot find them. You know what? Here, listen to this. This 
is so disturbing to me. The very fact--the very fact that this 
administration sent more than 100 children to the same address 
in Austin, Texas, while other Texas addresses received 44 and 
25 minors, respectively, that is outrageous. That is 
outrageous. I don't have a question for you. I just want you to 
understand that there is no criticism of the former 
administration and the ridiculous numbers and the so called 
separating children from their parents. No, that is called 
keeping them safe.
    Ms. Cantu, wouldn't you say that that is what your husband 
was able to do under the former President Trump's 
administration, was keep children safe?
    Ms. Cantu. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Greene. How does your husband feel now and all of the 
brave men and women in the Border Patrol, how does it affect 
their mentality? How does it affect their marriages? How does 
it affect their families when they have their hands tied behind 
their backs? They are not allowed to protect these children. 
They watch regular Americans get fired every single day, but 
yet we can't impeach Secretary Mayorkas because that is 
impeachment theater? How has that affected Border Patrol 
agents?
    Ms. Cantu. It's overall beyond frustrating. These Border 
Patrol agents carry that weight with them every day. The fact 
that they cannot comply with the oath that they swore on the 
day that they graduated from their academy, this is a flag that 
classes wave in the academy, in Artesia. This is a promise that 
they made. This represents a promise. The oath, the ability to 
protect this country. That's their frustration. They no longer 
have that. They're no longer allowed to practice the laws that 
they were taught. Nothing even special, it's just the basic 
books.
    Ms. Greene. Yes.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wish we had another round with 
these witnesses.
    Chairman Green. We do. If you want to stick around. We can. 
We did say at the beginning that we would allow a second round 
of questioning.
    Actually, we are going to take a recess for 5 minutes to 
allow the witnesses to take a break and we will reconvene at 
12:35. So a little more than--well, about 10 minutes. So 10-
minute recess and back at 12:35.
    [Recess.]
    Chairman Green. Committee is in order and I think we are 
on.
    Mrs. Ramirez, you are recognized for 5 minutes for your 
questioning.
    Mrs. Ramirez. Thank you, Chairman and Ranking Member 
Thompson. I am glad we had a little bit of a break. I know it 
has been a long, long few hours here.
    Today is our first hearing back since August recess and I 
do feel like it is kind of deja vu. We have heard over and over 
again that we are in a migrant crisis, and I think we all agree 
there is one. No child should die in the water or be separated 
from their family, citizen or non-citizen. At least that is 
what my Christian values tell me. Instead of addressing this 
crisis, however, this committee is looking for scapegoats to 
blame--President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, immigrants, 
children, women, families. Now, if we are looking for someone 
to blame for this crisis, we can look around this room and 
point fingers, and certainly we do, but the truth is that this 
crisis was made by years of inaction from politicians on both 
sides of the aisle.
    If the border is open, which we continue to hear over and 
over and over again, then why is it that people are drowning in 
the Rio Grande? Then why is it that 1,700 people, as the 
Chairman mentioned, have been found dead through dehydration or 
drowning? If the border is in fact open, then why is it that 
women and children are being targeted in the way they are and 
risking their entire life just to be here, a country that then 
we want to deport them from as they are escaping all sorts of 
horrible situations in their country? What I would say is that 
if we are truly serious about addressing this crisis, folks, we 
have got to start talking about immigration reform. That feels 
like a deja vu of deja vu's.
    We have to deliver work permits for immigrants. We have a 
labor shortage right now, manufacturing jobs, hospitality, all 
industries. They want to work. They don't want to have to be 
forced to live in shelters or have to be forced in conditions 
that are not legal. But we also have to ask ourselves, what 
would make anyone, that mother with that son cross through 
jungles to come to this country? What is the root cause of 
migration? That is our job as legislators to ask ourselves 
those questions and then find solutions.
    Mr. Gelernt, give me a yes or no, given your work with 
migrants, do you believe that it is important for cities to 
welcome migrants and provide them with basic support as they 
integrate into our communities?
    Mr. Gelernt. I do.
    Mrs. Ramirez. Another follow-up, yes or no, do you think 
that the Federal Government can do more to help with this?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes.
    Mrs. Ramirez. I agree with you, too. I agree with you, too.
    You see, we talk about 85,000 children, 85,000 children 
that were separated by the Trump administration. We have to 
make sure that these children that are no longer children are 
cared for. I would like to say to you that it is so 
disappointing to me to see some of my Republican colleagues 
talk about protecting women and children and then support cruel 
policies such as H.R. 2, the Child Deportation Act. There is 
this thing called dissonance that we can look up, you say one 
thing, but do the other. That is putting at risk and opposing 
funds for cities that are providing shelter. It is dissonance 
to what we say we care about. You say you care about children, 
you care about women. I don't want to see anyone trafficked. If 
you don't, we are going to find solutions.
    We should not stand for this blatant power play, nor allow 
it to be used as leverage to threaten our country with a 
Republican government shutdown. Our job right here is to find 
solutions. People want legal pathways. They don't want to be 
trafficked. It is our responsibility to create those legal 
pathways. I have told my colleagues before, I am ready to work 
with you on that. For those that are here, those that have been 
here, you can help pass the Promise and Dream Act and give 
dreamers that are no longer children a pathway to citizenship.
    Our job here is to continue to fight for justice and the 
rights of all that is the job that we got elected to do. That 
does include immigrants, that does include refugees. Because as 
I look here, unless you are Native American, every one of you 
and me, our ancestors came from another country, and we were 
welcomed here.
    Thank you for your time. I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentlelady yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Ezell for his 5 minutes of questioning.
    Mr. Ezell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for our 
witnesses that have come here today to tell us what you think 
is going on at the border.
    We have been up here for the last several months and we 
have exposed time and time again the failed border policies of 
this administration. It is no secret that the border is a mess, 
and it is no secret that our law enforcement officers are under 
attack. I spent my entire life as a law enforcement officer, 
and every time I have seen over the last several years the 
attacks that come under law enforcement, it just makes me sick 
to see that. To listen to Ms. Cantu today, Ms. Snodgrass, I am 
so sorry for your loss, and Mr. Ballard, thank you for what you 
have done. Mr. Gelernt, thank you all for being here and for 
your information.
    But we have seen the failed policies of this administration 
time and time again, these children that are missing, these 
people that have been exploited. It is terrible that it is 
going on right here in our country. It could be stopped in a 
very short period of time.
    We have seen the suicide of our Border Patrol agents, we 
have seen suicides of our law enforcement officers across this 
country and it is absolutely unnecessary. It is because of 
failed policies that have been put in place by this 
administration. It is absolutely appalling.
    I want Ms. Cantu to talk to us just for a few minutes about 
some solutions, about some of the attacks that have been on our 
law enforcement officers, our CBP officers down here at the 
border. I want you to tell me some of the things that we could 
do immediately, and I want this committee to hear it. As a wife 
of a law enforcement officer, I want you to talk to us today 
about some of the issues that your husband has faced and some 
of his colleagues has faced so that we can understand the 
amount of pressure that you are under as a wife supporting your 
husband.
    Ms. Cantu. Thank you.
    I think first and foremost, the committee must understand I 
sit here as a Border Patrol wife. With all due respect, ma'am, 
the border is open. Thousands of illegals come here with no 
questions asked. They are released into our country. Our border 
is open, ma'am. We hear every day countless stories of all the 
people that are bussed everywhere, flown everywhere, or just 
walked out the front door. That happens every day.
    I believe that the talks within our Border Patrol agents is 
that we need to bring back those basic rules that we had. Once 
again, when we do things like Remain in Mexico policy, the 
traffic slows down automatically. How do I know? Because I've 
heard stories of people from different countries other than 
Mexico coming to our country and claiming to seek asylum. Once 
they hear, well, if you are going to seek asylum, you have to 
wait in Mexico, they say, no, never mind, I want to go back to 
my country. That fixes and tidies up the traffic so that it 
gives time for our agents to take the time to process, to 
properly process, interview primarily the kids that cross. If 
the traffic slows down with even just one policy of Remain in 
Mexico, our agents are able to handle those cases with kids one 
by one, like it was before. That's going to save a lot of kids.
    Seeking asylum, the rules are the rules. There is no other 
way to explain it. Seeking asylum, you have to go through the 
POE. We didn't write those laws, Border Patrol agents didn't 
write these laws, they were already there.
    It's just a lot of basic things. Just three things could 
make such a big difference, and it could help all of our 
points, everything that all of us are trying to do, saving 
kids, the trafficking, the drugs, just some basic rules. But I 
just don't understand why Mr. Mayorkas wouldn't take the 
initiative to do that. Because it's very black and white. It's 
not complex. Giving the opportunity for our Border Patrol 
agents to be asylum judges. Nobody's going to know those 
illegal immigrants crossing better than our Border Patrol 
agents that caught them. Having them do the interview with the 
kids one-on-one, you'd be surprised how much those agents learn 
from those kids in just 5 minutes. Remain in Mexico. It's so 
basic. But even to begin with that we have to realize that 
right now our border, no matter how you write it down on paper, 
it is open. We see it every day. I live in the Rio Grande 
Valley.
    [Speaking foreign language], I see it every day. It fills 
up my downtown where I like to shop. It fills up our downtown 
area with immigrants trying to get to that bus station to head 
wherever they're going to go to. They just walk out. My 
brother's an ICE agent. I hear talks all the time, these people 
are walking out and there's nothing our agents can do. There's 
nothing our ICE agents can do. It's being allowed. I know Mr. 
Mayorkas can make a difference, and he refuses to. I firmly 
believe we should get a different approach. I believe with the 
conversations that I've had with other Border Patrol wives, 
with other agents, we feel the same.
    Mr. Ezell. Thank you, Ms. Cantu.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Menendez for his 5 minutes of 
questioning, the Ranking Member.
    Mr. Menendez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all the 
witnesses for appearing here today.
    I know it has been a long hearing. But specifically, I want 
to thank Ms. Snodgrass for your advocacy, for your testimony 
here today, and for what you are doing to try to raise 
awareness around fentanyl. Coming from all the way from Alaska 
means a lot to us.
    My son's name is Robert too. He turned one yesterday. A lot 
of the work that I do here is thinking about my children and 
the children of our neighbors, grandchildren of our neighbors, 
and ensuring that future grandparents and parents don't have to 
do the advocacy that you are doing today. The issue of fentanyl 
and its impact on our country is something that I believe we 
all take seriously. You mentioned legislation that has been 
introduced in your son's name. It is introduced by a Democrat 
and has both bipartisan support. I believe that we should be 
focused on solutions. You present five items in your testimony, 
some of it is funding non-invasive screening both for DHS and 
our postal service. Those are concrete solutions that we can 
work on here in Congress.
    I think where folks on this side get a little bit 
frustrated is that we are not talking more about those tangible 
solutions to ending the scourge of fentanyl in this country. We 
have a tendency in this environment here in Washington to 
politicize a lot of what we do. Some of what we do is 
constructive, some of what we do is working with people like 
you to figure out solutions so we can prevent the loss of life 
in this country as opposed to purely trying to assign blame. So 
I thank you for coming here and trying to recenter what we are 
doing because it is important work and it is within our 
jurisdiction. I do look forward to continuing do the work, to 
continue to look forward toward those solutions that you 
presented so we can expand upon them.
    But there are also things that this administration has 
done, like Operation Blue Lotus, which seized thousands of 
pounds of fentanyl, thousands of pounds of precursors, arrested 
over 200 individuals engaged in the transportation of fentanyl 
and other illicit drugs. We should be thinking about how we can 
grow that program as opposed to just trying to ignore it, 
because it is something that the administration has done in a 
productive way to address the challenge of fentanyl that we 
have. I hope to do that work and to do that work with all of my 
colleagues in this room on both sides of the aisle, because it 
has been said before, it is not a Democratic issue, it is not a 
Republican issue, it is an American issue. We start addressing 
the issue as Americans as opposed to Republicans and Democrats, 
we will get to much better solutions. So I thank you again for 
your advocacy and for your time here.
    I just want to quickly turn to some of the things that we 
have dealt with in this committee, and that includes H.R. 2, 
the border bill that we had through our committee earlier this 
year. We offered a series of amendments that we thought could 
improve the bill, even though we thought in its whole it was 
flawed. But specifically, the amendments that we introduced, 
myself included, had to deal with the treatment of NGO's. H.R. 
2 would prevent DHS from providing any funding to non-
governmental entities, including faith-based nonprofit 
organizations, who provide shelter, transportation, and legal 
assistance to families fleeing horrific conditions. It would 
also require FEMA's disaster management partners, such as 
Catholic Charities, to verify every person's immigration status 
before providing life-saving services.
    Mr. Gelernt, as someone who has spent a considerable amount 
of time with asylum seekers and others in the immigration court 
system, how do these types of services and the nonprofits you 
provide them impact those who seek assistance?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think having the NGO's and nonprofits 
involved is absolutely critical. That partnership, that public-
private partnership, is essential to doing the work on the 
ground. I think that the nonprofits can do things that the 
Government can't do. There's a certain trust factor. They are 
on the ground working every day with these communities. So the 
more we can foster that, the better.
    Mr. Ezell. They can be more nimble, right? Because they can 
move in terms of how the circumstances change to better adapt 
to what is happening on the ground. Would you agree with that?
    Mr. Gelernt. I would.
    Mr. Ezell. Let me ask you, in your opinion, should Congress 
be restricting the amount of funding that goes toward these 
nonprofits?
    Mr. Gelernt. No.
    Mr. Ezell. What do you think the impact on migrants--and 
you alluded to this, the communities that they serve look like 
should this funding be restricted?
    Mr. Gelernt. I'm sorry?
    Mr. Ezell. I am sorry. What would the impact on migrants 
and communities look like should this funding be restricted?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes, I think it would help significantly. I 
think that's exactly what we need is nonprofits helping with 
housing, transportation, all those logistics. As you point out, 
they are nimble, they are working with the communities. I think 
the impact would be significant.
    Mr. Ezell. Thank you.
    I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Luttrell for his 5 minutes questioning.
    Mr. Luttrell. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for 
joining us here today.
    I have 5 counties, 3 of which are--Liberty County is a 
county right outside my district and to date, there are 200 
families per month moving in, there are cartel gangs, MS-13, 
Mexican Mafia, and from what I understand, murders in that 
area. I live about 5 hours from the border coming from the 
west, southwest, and then depending on where else in the State 
you are traveling. But I live off the border, but I am the 
landing zone, and the murders are very cartel-esque, when I 
talk to the sheriff's office, constables, and State troopers.
    Ms. Cantu, you mentioned earlier, and maybe it is my fault, 
but I haven't had the opportunity to chat with anybody that is 
walking that line. You said earlier that they have the way to 
close the border. Now, depending on who you are talking to, is 
the border open, is the border closed. The border is what it is 
today. What we have, it is open, it is closed, we have this 
problem. Can you rattle off a couple of bullet points that your 
husband and your brother and everybody are talking about that 
we can get our heads around? Because maybe it is just we are 
not hearing it correctly?
    Ms. Cantu. Yes, thank you for your question.
    First and foremost----
    Mr. Luttrell. It is fine if you don't, I can appreciate 
that. I am sure it is pretty complex, but----
    Ms. Cantu. No, it's not. It's just like coming up with the 
order. Remain in Mexico, that deters all the traffic from a lot 
of other countries, obviously not from Mexico, that slows down 
this traffic, Russians, Chinese, all these people from these 
countries that are not really fond of our country. Another 
option would be to asylum seekers, we can do customs, asylum 
judges, and have asylum seekers go through the POE, through the 
point of entry. Once you do Remain in Mexico, the traffic slows 
down. This gives Border Patrol agents the ability to either 
help with asylum seekers by being asylum judges, or they can 
also perform the interviews for these kids that are being 
crossed. Again, as soon as you put in that Remain in Mexico 
policy, the traffic slows down immensely. That gives Border 
Patrol agents more time to fully focus. Because right now, the 
only thing that happens is these stations are just bus stops. 
Our stations are just bus stops because they don't get fully 
processed correctly like they were before because of the high 
amount of traffic that comes in. Before I could have 
conversations with my husband telling me how he had this little 
boy and his name was so-and-so, and he was this age, and he 
knew--he had some kind of knowledge about these people. Why? 
Because he had the time to actually talk to these people, to 
these kids. Now it's just bus in and out, in and out, in and 
out. The traffic is too much. Even if you do try to get to hire 
more agents, with all due respect, a lot of guys don't want to 
be agents right now. It's not the greatest job in the world 
right now, unfortunately. We stand for the patrol. We want more 
agents. We want more help. But unfortunately, it's not very 
popular right now.
    Mr. Luttrell. Thank you.
    Mr. Gelernt--did I say that right?
    Mr. Gelernt. Yes. Thank you.
    Mr. Luttrell. Hearing what you are hearing from the other 
side, can you give me some idea of why you said 5,500 children 
are missing, but we have the number 85,000 that is floating 
over the top of our head, if the policies are in place and the 
procedures are being followed, why do we still have these 
problems? Can you answer that question for me?
    Mr. Gelernt. So our view is that those 85,000 are probably 
not missing. That what is happened is----
    Mr. Luttrell. Yes, sir, yes, you have said that a couple of 
times.
    Mr. Gelernt. So I think our view is that if steps were not 
taken to diligently look at backgrounds of sponsors, they 
should be. That's something that needs to be fixed. I think HHS 
is looking into it and has taken steps. But my assumption is 
that those children are not missing. Sponsors just don't want 
to answer the phone from a Government agency.
    Mr. Luttrell. Given the time frame that this current 
administration has been in place from the previous 
administration, have rules been changed in a way to make this 
more streamlined and beneficial for those coming across?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think that there have been changes. Some are 
restrictive. I don't know that any have been particularly 
streamlined, as far as I know.
    Mr. Luttrell. I guess my concern is, if that is the case, 
then what seems to be the problem? Because if the numbers that 
are coming across--the numbers that are coming across have just 
grown exponentially, and we want to solve that problem. Working 
on both sides, they all think--Mr. Menendez said it greatly, we 
do want to solve this problem. We are just trying to figure out 
the best way to do that.
    Mr. Gelernt. Right. So I think a couple of things. One is I 
do think that there need to be more asylum officers there so 
that it can go faster. We are not opposed to a more efficient 
system as long as it retains some basic fairness and due 
process. The other thing is, I do think that more legal 
pathways opening up would help asylum seekers. It would also 
diminish the cartels. What we hear on the ground is the cartels 
prey on people who have no way to come in legally. So the only 
offer they can receive is, well we'll take you illegally by the 
cartels. Once there are legal pathways, it cuts the cartels 
out. So I do think we need more legal pathways for asylum 
seekers, we need more asylum officers to do the work more 
efficiently. Again, we are not opposed to a system that's more 
efficient as long as it retains basic fairness and due process.
    Mr. Luttrell. Thank you.
    I yield back, sir.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Brecheen for his 5 minutes.
    Mr. Brecheen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    So since this administration took office we are looking at 
numbers that tell us that about every year the population of 
Oklahoma, the State that I represent, is what is coming across 
our border illegally. We are almost at the point of three times 
the population of Oklahoma in our country illegally. You know 
it is bad when the mayor of New York City is saying, talking 
about ``illegal immigration is going to destroy'' he used that 
word, destroy the city. He is talking about people coming from 
West Africa, Russia. This is the site of Ground Zero. We have 
100 people every year the last couple of years, we are now at 
140, those are on the terrorist watch list just for this year, 
140 that have been encountered. Who knows the number of 
potential heinous actors have come across that we have not 
apprehended.
    Mr. Ballard, I think all of us applaud you, Jim Caviezel, 
Matthew Faraci--throw out Matthew's name, he is from Oklahoma--
you guys are agents of light in the Sound of Freedom. What you 
have done to advocate and what you have done to shed light on 
the humanitarian crisis of the sex slave trade. Thanks for 
being agents of light in a dark situation.
    Things have been talked about today. The second-largest 
criminal enterprise in the world is the sex slave trade. Every 
30 seconds a child is subjected to this heinous act, the United 
States being the largest consumer of child pornography--third-
largest consumer of child pornography and largest consumer of 
child rape videos. God help our country in this cultural rot. 
Line upon line and precept upon precept, we have stepped away 
generation after generation from Biblical virtue. This is where 
we are at. That is an aside. But for every parent who is not 
wanting to wage in this battle of good and evil, of returning 
this Nation back to our roots of Biblical virtue, if we stay 
silent, it is probably going to be easier for us, but it is not 
going to be easier for our kids and our grandkids.
    But now let's talk about those children that are coming 
across our border illegally. You had shared with me earlier the 
President of Guatemala told you something pretty profound. 
Would you expound about what the President of Guatemala told 
you as it relates to this trafficking issue?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes. I was with President Giammattei last week 
and he was just talking about the horrifying things that are 
happening to his people. He started a campaign with his 
Government called [speaking foreign language], which is to say, 
making visible what is invisible. It's basically a warning to 
the people, don't go with these smugglers because most of them 
are also traffickers, most of them are abusers. They might play 
a nice game and pitch a nice pitch in the beginning. Hey, don't 
worry, I'll pay you later. Well, you can pay me later. Yes, 
they'll pay with their bodies. They'll pay with other things.
    Mr. Brecheen. Did you tell me that 75--he told you that 75 
percent----
    Mr. Ballard. Correct.
    Mr. Brecheen [continuing]. Of all minors and women that are 
migrating are subjected to sexual abuse?
    Mr. Ballard. That's exactly what he told me. That's his 
understanding.
    Mr. Brecheen. I am going to continue with that. So we had a 
border sheriff that told us that cartels are utilizing the sex 
trafficking slave trade that are saying to parents if you can't 
afford what we are going to charge you to come into the United 
States, because we have become the Uber service to get into the 
United States for free, and we are going to charge you if you 
can't afford it. Do you have a 13-, 14-, 15-year-old daughter 
that we can help pay off your debt? That is an interesting note 
that was told to this committee. I think you had said in your 
commentary, or something you said in the past, that there is 
$14 million a day, the dollars that the cartel is making that 
corroborates another report by the New York Times that says it 
is $13 billion in 2021 the cartel made off human trafficking. 
We know there are 400,000 unaccompanied minors that have come 
across this border since this administration took office. We 
have got this massive flow that the administration is not able 
to vet, whether their families are legitimate families or 
``fake families''.
    Would you quickly tell me what the definition of a ``fake 
family is''? Quickly,just in deference to my time.
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely. Due to the Flores Settlement, it's 
a loophole that the traffickers and smugglers know that if they 
can get a kid and convince that kid to call her mom and him 
dad, the clients, you create a fake family and that forces the 
Border Patrol to let them in within 72 hours and they're all 
released. The kid gets used and recycled over and over again.
    Mr. Brecheen. So I am going to showcase this. I don't know 
if the camera will pick this up. This is from U.S. Customs and 
Border Patrol. This is dated May 19 of 2023, reversing under 
the Trump administration, we took DNA testing to verify whether 
or not those young adults were actually with a legitimate 
family member. This letter says ``The U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection familial DNA contract with certain technologies will 
end on May 31 of 2023. The testing will conclude on that date. 
Samples submitted afterwards will not be utilized.'' So we know 
that there is a grand jury in Florida that said that there were 
100 kids sent to San Antonio or sent to San Antonio, Texas to 
one sponsor. What do you think really is happening in those 
situations?
    Mr. Ballard. I think when you see that happening, you can 
expect exploitation. When you've left yourself no option to 
investigate because you haven't done any follow-up you haven't 
done any background work, those kids are now gone, and they are 
missing.
    Mr. Brecheen. Is this administration complicit whether 
knowingly or unknowingly when advocating the sex slave trade, 
because of these type of policies they are allowing these fake 
families to move people into the interior of the United States?
    Mr. Ballard. I hate to say this, but, yes, they are 
complicit because they know. They do know. I've watched them 
learn. Thanks to C-Span, I've watched them learn what's 
happening and they continue to do the same thing.
    Mr. Brecheen. Mr. Chairman, I yield.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. LaLota.
    Mr. LaLota. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for your 
important leadership on this American matter and appreciate all 
the witnesses being here today.
    Mr. Ballard, I am the father of three young girls. My 
daughters are 14, 12, and 9. I watched with great concern the 
movie that depicted your service to our country, The Sound of 
Freedom, and appreciate that you put your life and your family, 
set you free to be able to put others before you and your own 
family. I appreciate you making that sacrifice for young 
children that you didn't even know. In a system with so many 
failures, you, sir, are a bright spot, a beacon of hope, a 
light that has helped shine on this crisis that America has 
that has impacted innocent humans for too long.
    Sir, you mentioned in your testimony that there are 
loopholes in our immigration laws relative to this border 
crisis. I represent a suburban district east of New York City 
which is suffering from a migrant crisis right now. The City's 
mayor, a Democrat, says that this migrant crisis will destroy 
New York City.
    Mr. Ballard, sir, how familiar are you with the history 
behind America's asylum process? Specifically, that the 
historic intent behind the asylum process was to provide a safe 
haven for folks from other countries to have a safe haven here 
in this country if they are under imminent danger of 
persecution in their own country rather than a traditional 
immigration or visa process? How familiar are you with modern-
day American asylum process and the historical nature of it?
    Mr. Ballard. I'm relatively familiar.
    Mr. LaLota. If I told you that under this administration 
the asylum process is one by which an asylum applicant merely 
utters the right 20 or 30 words but has no bona fide proof that 
they are under an imminent danger of persecution, they are 
granted entry into our country, they are assigned an asylum 
hearing, usually a couple of years ahead of time and that 
ultimately around 80 percent of those seeking asylum, that 
their applications ultimately get rejected on the merits, would 
you agree that given these realities, that there are tremendous 
loopholes in how our asylum process is currently administered?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely. You just got to show up at the 
border and there's various loopholes, and you're going to get 
in.
    Mr. LaLota. Now, would you agree that these loopholes that 
you mentioned in your testimony just now isn't serving the 
intended purpose of providing refuge to those who are truly 
seeking shelter from imminent persecution of their home 
country?
    Mr. Ballard. It absolutely is not. In fact, it's affording 
opportunities for traffickers and for children to be abused.
    Mr. LaLota. That was my last question, sir. With respect to 
our traditional immigration process, which is usually meant to 
complement America's labor needs, in addition to the person or 
people trying to come into our country, can you describe, with 
just a minute or so remaining, how the diversion of the initial 
intent of our asylum process has exacerbated the human crisis 
that we are here to talk about today?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes, absolutely. You know, our laws are good, 
our laws would work. I wish we'd put more asylum courts. I wish 
we would have immigration reform. I wish we'd put more asylum 
courts as an attachment to our embassies in the central 
American countries so they don't have to take this journey to 
those who deserve asylum. Unfortunately, those who are showing 
up, the vast majority don't. They're going to get in. They know 
they're going to get in. Again, traffickers are taking 
advantage of it, making fake families, hurting children that 
way, letting them release to really anybody because they're not 
vetting them. They're not affording foreign children the same 
thing we would afford to any American child who turned up 
unaccompanied in a city. Why wouldn't we afford them the same? 
So they're taking advantage of what is a good process, an 
asylum process. They're taking advantage of that because their 
intent isn't to seek asylum, their intent is to get into the 
United States or even worse, hurt children in the process to 
make money.
    Mr. LaLota. Well said, sir. I will say once again, thank 
you on behalf of the committee for the sacrifice that you and 
your family have made to make other lives better.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize. Mr. D'Esposito.
    Mr. D'Esposito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all 
our witnesses that are here this morning and now this 
afternoon.
    As you are all well aware, and as my colleague from New 
York, Mr. LaLota, referenced, New York City is facing one of 
the biggest issues that we have seen in a long time. Most 
recently, the mayor has called for a 5 percent cut in all New 
York City department budgets, one right now, one 3 months from 
now, and one a few months after that, adding up to a 15 percent 
decrease across the line in budgets of our police department, 
our fire department, sanitation, building, our education 
system, on and on. Those are huge cuts. I spent a career in the 
NYPD as a detective and understand how crucial those funds are 
to really keeping our city moving forward. Most recently, 
someone has referenced the Billy Joel song about the lights 
going out on Broadway, and it seems like they are certainly 
dimming.
    One of the questions I have for you, Mr. Ballard, is 
yesterday we held a field hearing at the 9/11 Museum talking 
about the global threats that have changed this Nation over the 
last 22 years since 9/11. But most importantly, as the Chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, we 
talked about how we can do better coordinating Federal, State, 
local level. What can we do better in order to keep this Nation 
and the people who live here safe? I had to--yesterday during 
the hearing was thinking about the hearing today and thought to 
myself that we could really be posing the same question to the 
issues that we are facing with our open borders and now so many 
thousands upon thousands of migrants coming into the city of 
New York and many Democrat cities throughout this country 
because they praised themselves as cities and sanctuary cities 
where they welcome everyone, but clearly had no plans in place 
to welcome those into this so-called sanctuary city.
    So my question to you is what can we do on a Federal level 
to make sure that our partners, locally and on the State level, 
have the resources that they need to deal with this 
humanitarian crisis, with this disaster at the Southern Border, 
and most specifically deal with human trafficking now in these 
cities, where detectives like myself, it wasn't one of the 
biggest crimes that you were investigating, but now could be? 
What can we do to make sure that the local, the State, 
obviously are getting the resources they need from the Federal 
level?
    Mr. Ballard. Well, thank you. It's a super important 
question.
    I've been fighting this fight for almost 20 years, trying 
to make this a priority. The resources aren't given to State 
and local law enforcement, as they should be. That's why the 
foundations that I have worked with and founded do that. We 
supplement budgets because we know that it's simply--
anecdotally I can tell you that there's about 5 anti-drug 
agents for every one anti-child-trafficking agent. That's not 
right. OK. As has been said before, you can sell a bag of 
cocaine one time, you can sell a child ten times in a day. So 
let's prioritize correctly and let's start resourcing correctly 
so that we can fight this. Let's go overseas and work with our 
partners. I met with the President of Honduras and the 
President of Guatemala last week, and they said, help us 
forward deploy and get these traffickers who are taking our 
kids into your country. Let's work. We can forward deploy on 
this stuff. So there's a lot we can do in that way.
    Mr. D'Esposito. Thank you.
    I know it was touched on before by Ms. Cantu, but I want to 
address it with you real quickly. Obviously, when people take 
oaths to serve in our military, to be members of law 
enforcement, they take an oath and during that time they see 
things, smell things, hear things that most humans probably 
shouldn't. Obviously, the issues that we are facing, especially 
when it comes to human trafficking, creates mental health 
issues within law enforcement and those that are dealing with 
this each and every day. What can we do better? What other 
negative consequences are we seeing from Biden's failed border 
crisis, but specifically to the mental health issue, what can 
we do better?
    Ms. Cantu. Thank you for your question.
    I think our sectors need funding to create potential 
scenarios for agents to either, No. 1, have events to honor 
them. A great example is our Rio Grande Valley Sector had a 
comedy show. Mind you, our agents are so--they never show up 
for anything. I attended this comedy show and so many agents 
showed up in uniform. They were allowed to leave a couple of 
hours early. Those kind of scenarios is positive, uplifting. 
But what ends up happening is when we create events like that, 
our own agents have to fundraise for these events. I have a 
committee right now, it's made out of Border Patrol wives. We 
use our own money to show appreciation to our own agents. I 
think it's a good idea if somehow we had a budget, some kind of 
funding, so that each sector is allowed to have an annual thing 
for our agents. Just the smallest of appreciation, just 
something that unites them, that brings that morale, that hope 
that somebody still stands behind them.
    I think right now our chief, Ms. Gloria, has made a really 
good example of that. It's just unfortunate that we have to do 
our own fundraising. I think if anything create events like 
that, wellness events where you bring just medical people to 
come and see our agents and just talk to them and just things 
like that.
    Another thing I would say is I believe that each station 
should have some kind of chapel with enough chaplains in this 
station where they're accessible. We need God with our Border 
Patrol agents.
    Mr. D'Esposito. Absolutely. Well, thank you very much and 
thank you all for being here. Appreciate it.
    Mr. Chairman, my time is expired. I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Ms. Lee for her 5 minutes questioning.
    Ms. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you holding 
this important hearing today. I thank all of our witnesses for 
being here to share your stories.
    This, in fact, is a crisis that we cannot adequately 
describe by talking only about the staggering numbers of 
unlawful crossings at our Southern Border or by talking about 
the devastating economic impact or the failure to enforce our 
laws. The true foundation of this crisis is the ultimate price 
that is being paid by American families who have lost sons and 
daughters, brothers and sisters to fentanyl poisoning or 
children being stolen into human trafficking. You being here 
today allows us to share with the American people the true 
cost, what it really means when we fail to secure that border. 
So I thank you all for being willing to share your stories with 
us today.
    Mr. Ballard, I would like to begin by returning to 
something you testified about earlier this morning. You said 
that in America today it is easier to be a host family for a 
child coming across our border than it is to adopt a cat. Would 
you please share with us some of the things that should be done 
before a host family is approved as a safe place to place a 
minor child?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes. Thank you very much.
    Again, having been through the process of adopting 
children, I know the care that these kids deserve, and I 
rescued these kids and I still went through it. I don't see why 
these kids shouldn't have that same level of protection, 
especially in a country that is the No. 1 country in consuming 
child rape videos. This is not a safe country, unfortunately, 
for children who are unaccompanied and just walking around 
without a sponsor who's unvetted. So more needs to be done. You 
can't just show a document and sign a paper. I mean, literally, 
you have to do more than that to adopt a cat from a shelter. 
I've done it, so I know. They need to be background checked, 
fingerprints. They're not being fingerprinted, the sponsors, 
unless they can make that exception in the moment if they'd 
like to HHS. No, you have got to do it for everybody, 
background check, criminal checks. If they're claiming to be 
family, bring the DNA rapid technology. It's great, 20 minutes, 
you can confirm. Instead, they ripped it away, this 
administration, a few months ago. Why? Why? They're already so 
less protected, why do you take the few tools we have to 
protect these children? Why do foreign children deserve less 
protection than American children would be given if found in an 
endless number situation?
    Ms. Lee. Ms. Snodgrass, I would like to return to your 
testimony, please. One of the things that is important about 
what you have shared with us today is the concept that fentanyl 
is making it into every area of our country, every part of our 
country. There are parts of Alaska in particular that are very 
remote. Your organization has heard reports about how fentanyl 
is getting into those communities. Would you share with us, 
please, what you understand about that subject?
    Ms. Snodgrass. Thank you for the question.
    So another community I just came back from is Chevak, 
Alaska. The only accessible route to Chevak, Alaska, is either 
by sea plane or in the wintertime snow machines. I was asked to 
come there to do a Fentanyl Response Project presentation 
because they see the blue pills. That's what they call it in 
that community. The blue pills have made it into that community 
of less than 800 Alaskans. So you talked about the human toll. 
One member of that community dies, and it affects that entire 
community for generations to come. So the fact that cartels are 
targeting those kinds of communities, not only in Alaska, but 
also rural areas of the country, all around the country, 
Michigan, Minnesota, other communities that are rural in 
nature, native American communities. It's devastating, 
absolutely devastating to a rural community in Alaska to lose 
one citizen. In Dillingham recently, they lost an 18-year-old 
girl and that family, that community will never be OK from the 
loss of a child. I am not ever going to be OK again. Never will 
I be OK again from the loss of my child.
    Ms. Lee. What could Secretary Mayorkas be doing today that 
is not being done that would help stop the flow of fentanyl?
    Ms. Snodgrass. Today, Secretary Mayorkas and the Homeland 
Security could stand up a Federal response to begin to discuss 
and figure out how to take it--I said it already once today--
take it to them. We're on the receiving end of this deal and 
have been for years. Quite frankly, the parents--my child is 
dead, I'm here for other people's children. We need to take 
this fight to them. We need to take it to China, we need to 
take it to Mexico, and quit being recipients and victims of 
this war that we're waging. We need to take it across the 
border before it ever comes to the United States of America.
    Ms. Lee. Thank you. Ms. Snodgrass.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentlelady yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Strong for his questions.
    Mr. Strong. Mr. Ballard, as you mentioned in your 
testimony, in 2022 alone immigration authorities encountered 
152,000 unaccompanied minors, an all-time high. Many of these 
children will enter the United States illegally and be put at 
risk of sexual exploitation. In fact, it is estimated that 72 
percent of those trafficked in the United States are 
immigrants. My colleagues across the aisle regularly use words 
like safe, compassionate, and humane to describe their border 
policies. Do you think that the children being sold into sex 
slavery would agree with these policies are humane?
    Mr. Ballard. They would absolutely not agree that they're 
humane.
    Mr. Strong. What in your opinion would be more humane and 
help lessen the risk of exploitation of these children?
    Mr. Ballard. The most compassionate, humane thing to do is 
to enforce our borders, as the laws require and streamline our 
immigration processes. I do think that we can make it easier 
for those who deserve asylum and that will thus suck the wind 
out of the sails of the child traffickers, because they will no 
longer be incentivized.
    Mr. Strong. Thank you.
    The Health and Human Services Office, the Inspector General 
report found that in response to the influx of unaccompanied 
children, basic screening safeguards have been removed from the 
sponsor vetting process in an effort to expedite children's 
releases. Do you think these views--what do you think the 
outcome of that would be, is that a positive or a negative?
    Mr. Ballard. Extremely negative. It opens up all sorts of 
opportunities for traffickers, for pedophiles, for people who 
want to exploit children in labor. The bad guys are loving it. 
Look, the human traffickers that are making $14 million a day 
love our policies, and that should tell you all you need to 
know. Why do they love our policies? They shouldn't.
    Mr. Strong. Mr. Gelernt, you mentioned family separation of 
illegal aliens, parents separated from children. If these 
parents stopped crossing with children illegally into America, 
would that solve this problem?
    Mr. Gelernt. I think that the parents are coming with their 
children out of desperation because they're in such danger. I 
don't think we should be, as a country, saying we're not going 
to accept asylum seekers, and the only thing we can do is take 
them and separate them from their children. So I think we need 
to have asylum system. We promised after World War II we would 
never send people back to danger. We can talk about differences 
in how the asylum system should run, but I don't think anybody 
should be in favor of taking little children away from their 
parents and using them as pawns.
    Mr. Strong. Thank you.
    Has your organization ever done a study related to American 
parents being separated from their children by death because of 
fentanyl overdoses? Over 300 a day, every day in America from 
fentanyl, people die from overdoses where American children are 
being stripped from the arms of their parents. You ever done a 
study on that?
    Mr. Gelernt. I don't know.
    Mr. Strong. If a Member of Congress believes your district 
supports illegal immigration, today is a good day to get on the 
record and say it publicly. I am sure Governor Abbott would be 
happy to route some buses your way and bring 100,000 to you to 
create hell on your city economy, school system, hospitals, law 
enforcement, first responders, court system, and your jail 
system.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Mr. Crane for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you guys for 
coming here today.
    Mr. Ballard, thank you for your service. My family and I 
also saw the movie. Pretty tough movie to watch. Mr. Ballard, 
are you aware that this week marks the 22d anniversary of 9/11 
attacks?
    Mr. Ballard. Yes, I do.
    Mr. Crane. Looking back at that event, sir, do you come to 
the same conclusion that I do, that it almost seems as if we 
haven't learned a thing in this country?
    Mr. Ballard. I do.
    Mr. Crane. Isn't it true, sir, that some of these 
trafficking networks that the cartels operate, they don't just 
traffic little kids, but they also will traffic individuals on 
the terror watch list into the country?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely. We know that to be true.
    Mr. Crane. Yes. The last numbers I was looking at showed 
that within the last couple of years, 241 have been 
encountered. That doesn't include the gotaways, does it, sir?
    Mr. Ballard. That's absolutely right. Mohamed Atta himself 
staged in Mexical and Mexico and crossed into the United States 
that way.
    Mr. Crane. Do you think it is possible that of the 
estimated 1.5 million gotaways that any of the individuals on 
that watch list or that might be on the terror watch list might 
conduct another attack like we saw on 9/11?
    Mr. Ballard. Absolutely.
    Mr. Crane. Thank you.
    Ms. Cantu thank you so much for being here today. I wanted 
to tell you personally, thank you so much for your courage, 
your dedication to your family and to the Border Patrol. I want 
to say in this--I am a freshman here in Congress, I have only 
been here for 8 months, but rarely do I see a witness that has 
the courage to actually confront a Member of Congress and tell 
him what is what. So thank you for doing that today.
    It really bothers me when I see all the politics going on. 
I know you have seen it today, haven't you, ma'am? I know you 
have seen today why we are in this situation where our kids are 
dying of fentanyl. We have members on the terror watch list 
coming through our Southern Border, and our country is, quite 
frankly, being overrun. It is sad because--no offense to the 
witness from the other side, but clearly they brought this 
witness in to talk about policies of the past, they didn't 
bring him in here to talk about what is going on today, did 
they? Mr. Ballard, did you notice that as well?
    Mr. Ballard. I did notice that.
    Mr. Crane. Why do you think that is, sir?
    Mr. Ballard. It seems to me a bit of a distraction. Not 
that we shouldn't talk about family separation, but we're here 
to talk about this problem right now, right before us, and it's 
devastating. I think some of this might have been used as a 
distraction to not get these bigger points across.
    Mr. Crane. Yes. Well, on that note of family separation, do 
you think it is a little ironic that there is only a focus on 
family separation under the last administration?
    Mr. Ballard. I do, because there's a point that hasn't been 
made about that. How come these families--look, I believe some 
of those families absolutely were separated wrongfully. But 
however, if the parents aren't coming back to get those kids, 
how do you know that they weren't fake families that were 
separated? We know there's cases where they were real families 
I'm not saying there's not, but we don't know the number. How 
many are fake families and those kids might have been rescued? 
We have to ask that question. I don't have the answer, but at 
least let's talk about it.
    Mr. Crane. Yes.
    Mr. Gelernt, on that same train of thought, it is 
interesting to me that you just make the assumption that 
because the sponsors aren't answering the phone that you guys 
don't believe that these 85,000 kids are really missing.
    Mr. Gelernt. Right. Well, that's based on talking to people 
in years of working in this area that sponsors generally do not 
like to answer the phone from a Government agency or do not 
know who's calling. But our belief is that these are not 
children who were lost. There are background checks. The Biden 
administration does--notwithstanding what's been said here 
today, the Biden administration does do background checks. If 
there have been shortcuts taken at any point, those need to be 
fixed and I believe that the agency is looking into that. 
Obviously I don't to give----
    Mr. Crane. Thank you. I take back my time. Thank you, sir.
    My colleague from New York, before he left the room, he 
made a couple of claims. He said, can the Biden administration 
hire more immigration judges, can they print more money to hire 
more Border Patrol agents. He was clearly trying to take 
responsibility off of this administration. Then he said it is 
because we have no--Republicans have no interest in actually 
solving the problems, which is ironic. Then he actually brought 
up something that he constantly talks about, about where the 
vast majority of the weapons that the cartels are using is 
coming from. Mr. Chairman, I have a question for you. Has my 
colleague from New York ever presented the data to this 
committee to back up this claim so the rest of us can see it?
    Chairman Green. I was having a conversation, a sidebar, I 
missed the question.
    Mr. Crane. OK, well, I would like to know if my colleague 
from New York has ever----
    Chairman Green. I think you can ask him, but we can check.
    Mr. Crane. OK.
    Chairman Green. But I don't know the question, so.
    Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I yield back my time.
    Chairman Green. The gentleman yields.
    I now recognize Ms. De La Cruz for 5 minutes of 
questioning.
    Ms. De La Cruz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for putting on 
this important hearing and for allowing me to waive on today. 
This is especially important for myself. I am the Congresswoman 
and have the honor of serving South Texas as their 
Congresswoman, where we house one of the largest Border Patrol 
sectors in the entire Nation.
    You know, sitting here as a guest of the Chairman that I am 
so grateful to have me here, it is very frustrating to hear 
from my friends on the other side of the aisle, first of all, 
dismissing 80-plus thousand children who are missing, 
dismissing the failed Biden administration policy that has not 
only let the immigrants down, but has let our Border Patrol 
agents down, has let South Texas down, and has let our country 
down. It is disgusting that with record number--record number 
of illegal immigrants who are coming through here, where 
Texas--Texas has had to fill the gap that the Biden 
administration has failed, Texas has stood up because Texas 
loves Texas, Texas loves the United States. Sadly, Governor 
Abbott and Texans are having to do the job that the Biden 
administration refuses to do.
    This has had devastating human consequences. In my 
district, 40 percent of my district is in Hidalgo County, a 
Democratic county. Democratic sheriff from Brooks County has 
said, every immigrant body that they find, there is as many as 
ten that are never recovered. Ten. You are talking about one of 
the poorest counties in my entire district, Brooks County, 
where they have to bring in coolers to actually hold the dead 
bodies. These are people who are dying along the way, dying in 
the South Texas heat. Why? Because they believe the border is 
open, they believe they can go through the areas not at the 
port of entries, but through those areas that are so unsafe.
    Because of the hardships that our Border Patrol agents have 
had to endure, we have seen the highest number of suicides in 
13 years, 17 CBP suicides in 2022. This is what is happening to 
our Border Patrol agents. Ms. Cantu, I thank you for your 
service as a wife and as a mother who I am sure spends long 
nights afraid to get a phone call from your husband's 
supervisor, afraid that he may not come home that night. Those 
are scary things.
    Tell us about how the mental part of your husband's job has 
not only impacted your husband and his colleagues, but also 
your family.
    Ms. Cantu. Thank you for your question, ma'am.
    I can tell you that our community within the Border Patrol 
has been so affected that now we actually get phone calls of 
agents on that last straw, trying to speak to my husband, that 
they're on the verge, that they're on the verge of taking their 
life. That was unheard of. This is recent. We have to check up 
on everybody now. We call agents that we haven't spoken to in a 
while just to make sure how they're doing. This is real. The 
frustration every single day at your job is real. The stories, 
they are not used to the amount of stories that they hear, the 
amount of frustration, the amount of adding on everything else 
in life. These are humans. They're human beings, just like us. 
It's a different environment now. The increase in the divorce 
rate. Like I said, we create our own communities just to make 
sure and check up on everybody. I mean, we contact, try to 
reach out as many people as we can. We do what we can do just 
for ourselves. That feels lonely that you don't have somebody 
that's going to support you like our own Government.
    Ms. De La Cruz. Thank you again, Ms. Cantu. You are 
absolutely right. The Biden administration has failed again, 
not only to secure our borders, but they have failed the very 
people that are working hard to support our Nation and keep our 
Nation secure.
    Thank you.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Green. The gentlelady yields.
    Without objection, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. McCaul's 
opening statement is submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Honorable McCaul follows:]

                Statement of Honorable Michael T. McCaul
    Evidence uncovered by this committee has shown that this 
administration bears full responsibility for the harm that Americans 
have experienced as a consequence of its open border policies.
    Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly sat before this committee and 
blindly defended the policies that are, quite literally, killing 
Americans.
    Based on the administration's policies, with Mayorkas at the helm 
of DHS:
   Mexican cartels are the primary supplier of illicit fentanyl 
        for the United States.
     Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans 
            aged 18 to 49.
     Since 2021, more than 100k Americans per year have died by 
            overdose, with the vast majority attributed to fentanyl.
    CBP have been in the field, doing their best and have literally 
turned their backs on Secretary Mayorkas.
    The lack of leadership has clearly taken its toll on agents and 
officers.
   In 2022 alone, 17 CBP personnel took their own lives.
   National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera 
        admitted, before Congress, that personnel are unable to perform 
        the job that they were hired and trained to do.
    The refusal by the Secretary to lead the Department does not only 
have political consequences--it has life-altering consequences for 
personnel and their families.
    Finally, it is obvious the crisis does not just adversely impact 
Americans.
    The U.S.-Mexico border is known as the world's deadliest overland 
migration route, according to the United Nations.
    In addition to deaths, women and children are trafficked by the 
cartels, with many ending up in forced labor and sex trafficking rings.
    The border crisis is no longer simply a failed policy--it has 
developed into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, in which Secretary 
Mayorkas is complicit.
    No one State has borne the brunt of this crisis more than the 
people of Texas, who have witnessed it first-hand.
    My Governor's decision to bus illegal immigrants to communities 
across the country has finally raised this crisis to be recognized on a 
national level.
    The failure to acknowledge and address the crisis is a disgrace.
    The United States can, and must, do better.

    Chairman Green. I now recognize the Ranking Member for his 
closing comments.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Before I close, I ask unanimous consent to include in the 
record the opening statement of Mr. Ivey of Maryland.
    Chairman Green. So ordered.
    [The statement of Honorable Ivey follows:]

                   Statement of Honorable Glenn Ivey
                           September 13, 2023
    Mr. Chairman, I am at home recovering from COVID and unable to 
attend the hearing this morning but wanted to include a statement for 
the record. I would like to express my sentiments to each of our 
witnesses today who has experienced significant loss and tragedy. I 
cannot imagine the despair and grief that you are experiencing. My 
thoughts and prayers are with each of you. Please know that I am 
committed to working across the aisle to promote a more humane 
immigration system that prioritizes the well-being and safety of 
everyone.
    While I am sympathetic to the testimony given today, I must also 
assert that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have used this 
hearing to paint the conditions at the border with an overly broad 
brush. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration's handling 
of the border situation and recklessly claim that it is the Democrats' 
immigration policies that have led to an influx of migrants, strained 
resources, and have compromised our national security.
    My Republican colleagues' assertions have put politics over people 
and have had a severe human cost. They have forgotten that our nature 
as Americans is to uphold that which makes us human--our empathy and 
compassion. Our national values dictate that we provide refuge to those 
fleeing persecution and despair.
    Our Nation was built by and for immigrants. However, this history 
is often forgotten when Black and Brown migrants are involved. 
Regrettably and far too often, the welcoming attitude toward migrants 
from European countries gives way to concerns and bigotry when migrants 
arrive from almost anywhere else.
    Republicans claim they are concerned about migrants and Border 
Patrol agents. Yet, those claims are meaningless lip service because 
Republicans have voted to cap non-defense discretionary funding in the 
fiscal year 2024 appropriation bill. Protecting our Southern Border 
requires strategic, robust funding to mitigate the crisis.
    Republicans claim that they are concerned about fentanyl being 
smuggled into our country. Yet, they refuse to take any action to stop 
the trafficking from the United States into Mexico of millions of guns 
that enable the smuggling of fentanyl, and which have caused an 
epidemic of violence and death.
    The Republican fixation on magnifying crime and destruction at the 
Southern Border also prevents the development of solutions by glossing 
over the need for immigration reform.
    According to the Washington Post, at least 91,000 migrants crossed 
our Southern Border in August. Anytime there is a large influx and 
concentration of people in an area, and their basic needs are unmet, 
the likelihood of problems increases. I do not intend to make light of 
daily tragedies along the Southern Border. However, tragedies occur and 
are manifestations of the inhumane treatment of migrants who are 
struggling for security and sustenance.
    I also wanted to mention that I am grateful for thought leaders 
like Congressman Trone, whose legislation Bruce's Law seeks to 
facilitate Government cooperation and public awareness about the 
dangers of fentanyl while allocating additional funding to community 
organizations and coalitions. Legislation like Bruce's Law is a 
solution that would help to mitigate the fentanyl crisis.
    We must fulfill our role as a solution-oriented committee and 
prevent further tragedies. Rather than political posturing, hearings 
must be held to meaningfully improve our immigration system.
   Immigrant Processing and Treatment.--Our immigration system 
        needs reforms to treat immigrants humanely at the border and 
        all stages of the immigration process.
   Reuniting Separated Families.--Migrant children must be 
        reunited with their families. The Trump administration's zero 
        tolerance policy separated at least 5,500 children from their 
        parents. Despite the Biden administration's efforts, there are 
        still more than 500 children who have not been reconnected with 
        their parents. We must accelerate processing so that families 
        can be reunited quicker.
   Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.--The DACA program 
        protects those brought to the United States as children with no 
        home country other than the United States. Extending rights to 
        DACA beneficiaries (or DREAMers) is necessary to legalize their 
        immigration status fully and permanently. Extending rights to 
        DREAMers is both economically beneficial to the United States 
        and morally imperative.
   Protecting Asylum Seekers and Refugees.--Asylum seekers and 
        refugees have rights pursuant to U.S. and international law 
        that must be respected. The United States must adhere to these 
        norms and allow eligible applicants to effectuate their rights.
   Administering Immigration Laws.--The effective 
        administration of our immigration laws is based on the 
        imposition of penalties for employers who abuse H-2A and H-2B 
        visas while, at the same time, establishing a more 
        straightforward pathway to citizenship for immigrants. There is 
        also an urgent need to expand access to visas to bring skilled 
        IT talent from overseas so that our Nation does not miss the 
        opportunity to welcome great talent who can advance our world-
        class innovation.
    Mr. Chairman, these hearings would illuminate key issues and policy 
changes, using the committee's time more effectively and efficiently to 
ensure that our country is safer and more just for everyone. It is 
crucial for us to hold hearings and pass legislation that establishes 
humane immigration reform. We must always approach immigration with 
compassion and empathy. Thank you.

    Mr. Thompson. Thank you.
    Let me say to the witnesses for today's hearing, a lot of 
us have heard you. I have indicated in my opening statement 
that it will take Democrats and Republicans to solve the 
problem. Some of the legislation I outlined, where former 
Ranking Member Katko and I authored and became law, was an 
example of that. I look forward to doing that going forward.
    After we do the hearings I hope we have the strength to put 
meaningful legislation forward to address this problem. It 
requires more than just at the border. We talked about some of 
the conversations with the embassies and consulates in the 
south. That has to be a robust process. We can't do that. But 
our committee doesn't have that jurisdiction. That is Foreign 
Affairs Committee's jurisdiction. They have to do it. Some 
committee is Judiciary. They have part of the jurisdiction of 
what we are dealing with, as well as a couple more committees. 
So what we really need as we address this is some form of 
comprehensive immigration reform on one hand, but we also need 
to address the drug issue coming into this country. There is no 
question about it. We can't, in my humble opinion, be viewed as 
the arrogant Americans, and we have to lead as a country, and 
you can't lead from behind.
    We have been fortunate. Our history of people coming to 
this country is replete with examples of people coming from 
other parts of the world coming to our shores seeking a better 
way of life. For the most part, we have welcomed so many of 
them here. I think that is why we have historically been the 
shining example of why people want to come to the United States 
of America. I think as we address this issue, we can't decide 
that all of a sudden we are so good that nobody else ought to 
come.
    I have said this several times, my ancestors came here in 
the belly of a ship. They didn't want to come here. They came 
as slaves. I am here. I don't know anywhere else I want to be. 
But I can sympathize and empathize with people who are trying 
to come to this country because we have a value system that 
everybody looks up to. So whatever we come up with as a 
committee, I hope we look at the history of this great country 
and what it has meant to so many people struggling to come to a 
better way.
    But I think for the record, we also have to kind-of outline 
the policies that got us to where we are today. So it is 
important for us to understand the human cost of the past Trump 
policies my colleagues seem to want to go back to, like, family 
separation. There are still hundreds of children who need to be 
united, so it is stunning some of my Republican colleagues 
would suggest the problem is minor and has to be solved. 
President Trump's inhumane and ineffective border policies, 
like Title 42 and Remain in Mexico, cause smugglers and 
criminal cartels to realize unprecedented profits and transform 
human smuggling into a multi-billion dollar illicit industry. 
Because they figured it out. If we send them back to Mexico, we 
will figure out a way to get them back to the United States. 
But it will cost more for them to do it, and that is what 
happened. The record reflects that.
    The Biden administration and Democrats are taking action to 
keep our borders secure. The Biden administration has ramped up 
efforts like Operation Blue Lotus and Operation Artemis to go 
after the traffickers, smugglers, and transnational criminal 
organizations. We funded more technology and more offices to 
increase inspection at ports of entry. We also funded more 
Border Patrol agents for between ports of entry. Not a single 
Republican on this committee voted for that increase. It was 
only Democrats who voted to give our Border Patrol agents 
exactly what they asked for.
    I will continue to be one of those persons who say I will 
continue. I won't play the politics. My Republican colleagues 
did not vote for any increase in the Homeland Security budget 
last year. They voted against it.
    I would also like to set the record straight about what we 
heard today about DNA testing. CBP did not stop DNA testing for 
families. The vendor CBP has contracted with for DNA testing 
now offers tests for single purchase through a Government-wide 
contract, which is more cost-effective. When CBP has concerns 
about whether a child is related to the adults they enter the 
United States with, they absolutely should conduct a test. This 
is not stopped.
    As I said at the beginning of the hearing, this committee 
has a bipartisan history of working together to address real 
threats and protect vulnerable people. It is time that we 
return to that, past time that we as Democrats and Republicans 
finally get it right.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Green. The Ranking Member yields.
    You know, for my closing comments I just want to say I 
think we have moved the needle some today. Your stories have 
been amplified. There are a lot of people that have been 
listening today. I think the American people know more now how 
the policies, that despite having himself continued, those 
policies have resulted in more trafficked children, more 
trafficked fentanyl, more crime, more trauma and anxiety on the 
Border Patrol agents and their families. You have gotten that 
message out.
    We have also heard today from even the Minority witness 
that Biden's policies are part of the problem. At least two of 
the Members of the Minority today actually admitted there is a 
big border crisis. That is a movement of the needle. That is a 
movement of the needle. Thank goodness. But one of the best 
indicators that some success today is that the Minority never 
really fought to defend Mayorkas' policies. The theme of 
today's Democrat questions and even their selection of a 
witness, it is about beat up Trump. The mantra is all back to 
the kids in cages, which, by the way, the Minority seems to 
forget this, the images from that the press used were from the 
Obama administration. But that deflection speaks volumes. I 
think that is a good thing for us all to observe.
    I want to take a look too at one of the other deflections 
from the Minority party. This echoing argument from almost all 
of them about we have to fix immigration law. Well, I agree. 
But we have to secure the border first, or the incentive just 
keeps more mass waves of people coming. I really appreciate the 
Ranking Member in his closing comments who just said other 
committees are involved. It would be great if we could all 
focus on the Homeland Security piece of this instead of 
spending a lot of time talking about immigration reform, 
because that is another committee. He is absolutely right, that 
is Judiciary Committee. So I thank him for actually bringing 
that up. This committee is about homeland security and the 
issue, the greatest issue in homeland security right now is 
border security.
    We did pass a bill that contained many of the solutions our 
witnesses talked about today and asked for, H.R. 2.
    We also heard that this is just some kind of an impeachment 
hearing. Well, I will remind my colleagues that oversight is 
one of our responsibilities, we write laws and, yes, oversight 
is one of our responsibilities. You know what, greater than 
200,000 dead Americans, I think that warrants the time until we 
get it stopped. Eighty-five thousand children that the sponsor 
doesn't want to pick up the phone. OK, they are not picking up 
the phone. I am sorry those people, those children deserve us 
getting to the bottom of it.
    But since they want to compare Trump and Biden, let's do 
it. Let's look at some numbers. ACLU speaks about 5,500 
separated children. Any child separated is bad, but they talk 
about that almost to a person today, going back to Trump. This 
administration has separated 400,000 children from their 
parents by not sending them back to their parents in their home 
countries--400,000 that have been separated--85,000, OK. Mr. 
Bishop said 6 percent, which means 7 percent of that number. If 
it is just 7 percent of that number, that is more than the 
previous administration. Tens of thousands of American parents 
permanently separated from their children because they are dead 
due to the fentanyl pouring across our Southern Border.
    The Minority members also mentioned the deaths of the 
border migrants during Mr. Trump's administration. I remember I 
was here during the hearing sitting right over there as a 
Member of this committee when we were concerned about three 
children that had died. Fortunately, as an E.R. physician I got 
to be an expert witness, so to speak, in my questioning about 
that. Many of the Members deferring to me, allowing me to keep 
asking questions. There were three deaths we were talking 
about. Seventeen-hundred deaths and they quit count or where 
they quit telling the American people about it. If you look at 
the rate, that is three times the rate of the previous 
President. So if you want to compare numbers or you want to 
compare Presidents, sure, we will do that.
    There was also something I took offense to, and someone 
said that we weren't upholding American values. I don't think 
it was the Ranking Member. I don't know who it was. Someone 
made the accusation we are somehow not upholding American 
values. Yes, I believe we are a nation of immigrants, and I am 
for legal immigration. We have jobs, unfilled jobs in this 
country. I mean we have to get this fixed. But you can't fix 
that first, you have to fix border security, which is our job 
in this committee.
    But I want to say this about American values. I think one 
of our greatest values is upholding the rule of law. Mayorkas 
is violating the rule of law. The Courts have deemed so that by 
the way they are doing the judicial side of the INA, executing 
the INA law, is against the law. CBP One app doesn't suddenly 
create a legal pathway into the United States. I am sorry, it 
does not. About the American value of upholding the rule of 
law, and we have heard from our witnesses today that save 
lives.
    We have also heard, and I deeply believe it is true, that 
Mr. Mayorkas knows his policies have increased the number of 
trafficked human beings and knows that it has increased the 
number of dead Americans due to drugs. Yet he has done nothing. 
We heard in questions from Mr. McCaul that by ignoring this 
fact, the fact that the policies have increased human 
trafficking, Mr. McCaul, a former Federal prosecutor, that at a 
minimum it is complicity and that it is potentially aiding and 
abetting the drug cartels in their crimes. We will continue to 
look into that.
    There are also accusations of our side that we have not 
done anything but investigate and just all we are about is this 
investigation. But interestingly, the Ranking Member even 
mentioned a co-sponsored bill between him and Representative 
Garbarino that actually passed in this Congress. I recall a 
bill that Mr. Swalwell and I reached across the aisle and did 
on cybersecurity. It is time for oversight on these 200,000 
dead Americans.
    Ms. Snodgrass, I commend you. My son was born about the 
same time your son was. Your loss is incomprehensible. But your 
response for fighting for American families and the cause of 
your son's bill, your son will live forever in that piece of 
legislation because I told my team today to sign me onto that 
bill and we will get it across the finish line.
    Ms. Cantu, thank you for your service to this great 
country. My spouse served as an army wife for 24 years. When 
you are in that position, it is tough. The crisis that is going 
on at our Southern Border right now, one of our own making, you 
shouldn't have to be enduring. But I do appreciate you, and I 
really thank you for being here today.
    Mr. Gelernt, I think I heard you say that the ACLU, or at 
least the Government, should be at least looking into these 
85,000 phone calls that haven't been answered. So for that, I 
want to appreciate you saying that. I think I did hear you say 
that. I want to thank you for being here today. Really do.
    Mr. Ballard, thanks for being an American hero and going 
after those kids. These cartels who capture these kids are some 
of the most violent people and most dangerous people on the 
planet. I have seen the videos of what they do when they catch 
people. You had the guts to go into the mouth of the dragon and 
rescue little children. You are a hero. I hope America's youth 
know your story and emulate you. It would be great for our 
country if they would.
    I agree, God's children should not be for sale. But 
tragically, many are. As we have heard today, Secretary 
Mayorkas' policies have increased the number trafficked and 
increased the number of dead from fentanyl. Knowing this, he 
has done nothing.
    This hearing will be followed by a hearing on the financial 
costs. Now, we have talked about the human costs, we also need 
to look at the financial costs of an open border.
    I want to thank everybody for being here. Again, thank our 
witnesses, thank the Ranking Member.
    This committee is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:56 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]