Dear Friend,

On Tuesday, Speaker John Boehner announced the creation of a working group to address the national security and humanitarian crisis occurring in Texas and along the southern border with the huge increase of unaccompanied children crossing the border and being apprehended. The Speaker asked me to lead this effort, which I have agreed to do.

Every day, between 250 and 500 unaccompanied children are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, which has overwhelmed and strained the resources of the Border Patrol, local officials and the states. The Border Patrol cannot do their primary job of securing the border, and there are not enough adequate facilities to house, feed, or treat the health care concerns because of the increasing number of unaccompanied children being apprehended at the border on a daily basis. The Border States, including Texas, deserve solutions and the federal resources necessary to alleviate the serious issues they currently have to manage.  

While a majority of the focus is on the border, the issue of placement of the unaccompanied children is a matter communities across Texas are now facing. In Fort Worth, 200 unaccompanied minors have already received aid. Catholic Charities in Fort Worth has agreed to assist by providing aid and shelter for these minors, and churches and other charities throughout my district are also being called on to help as well.

This dire situation at the border, and throughout Texas, requires that immediate solutions be developed and implemented, and I don’t believe the Administration is moving quickly enough to manage this crisis. This is an emergency situation that cannot be allowed to continue. I’m organizing the working group so that we can begin the task of providing solutions to solve this immediate crisis at the southern border.

I will keep you updated on our work as things develop.

Sincerely,
Kay Granger